


Dubitatio

by eideann



Series: Eros [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Episode Related, False Identity, False Memories, Forced Voyeurism, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Rape Recovery, S4xE10 Beneath the Surface, Sexual Violence, Slavery, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-23
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-28 11:29:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 32
Words: 126,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6327202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eideann/pseuds/eideann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>P3R-118 seems to be an idyllic place.  Science and technology hold back the catastrophe of an ice age that threatens all the planet's inhabitants with extinction, and within the domes, humankind lives in peace and harmony.  SG-1 is tasked with treating with the planet's leadership with the goal of eventual technological exchange.</p><p>During the carefully managed guided tours their hosts take them on, Jack and Daniel stumble on a secret that raises all kinds of questions about the story and histories they've been fed.  Angry at being misled, Jack takes a bold approach to the planet's leadership, demanding answers.  Unfortunately, he didn't take the time to report in to Stargate Command, so when the leader takes Jack's criticism amiss, SG-1 is on their own far from home and at the mercy of their hosts.  Soon they find out that the society is even more questionable than they had guessed.</p><p>Shortly thereafter, all most of them remember is the urgent need to keep the power plant operating in their underground home to stave off the encroaching ice.  Only Daniel knows who he is, who they are, and that they need to find their way home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an exploration of possible causes of the events leading up to, at the time of and beyond SG-1's enslavement by the government of P3R-118. Plenty of Daniel-whumpage. 
> 
> Issues include what became of the workers after they were rescued by SG-1, reasons for Kegan's extraordinary overprotectiveness of Daniel, and a Sam-friendly explanation for the apparent romantic relationship that existed between her and Jack on 118. This qualifies as a tag and a missing scene for Beneath the Surface, but, apart from one slight rearrangement of events on Earth, the events of this story, tumultuous as they are, do not actually break canon.

Daniel’s blue eyes snapped with anger. “We’ve had this conversation eight times already, Jack, I don’t know what good it will do to rehash it again.”

“I just . . .” Jack hesitated. “I want you to understand why I did what I did.”

“I know why you did what you did, Jack,” Daniel said. His shoulders were tense, and he had his arms wrapped around his torso. It looked like he had his arms crossed, but this was the self-hugging Daniel. Jack would recognize him anywhere. “I disagreed at the time, and I disagree now, but we came up with another solution and everything’s fine now.” He shook his head. “Can’t we just let it go at that?”

Jack stared at him, wishing he knew how to make things right. Daniel had been pretty cold ever since Jack had made the decision to blow up the Gadmere ship. Even Carter was getting the silent treatment, though Daniel was starting to thaw in her direction. Jack on the other hand . . .

None of his team seemed particularly thrilled with him. Teal’c and Carter at least put a polite, professional face on it, but Daniel was simply . . . not there. He was bland. He did his job. He spoke to Jack when it was necessary, but other than that, they might as well not be in the same room. Even now, when he stood in the living room of Daniel’s apartment, it felt like they were miles apart.

“I can, but I don’t think you can,” Jack said. “Because everything isn’t fine now, and you know it.”

Daniel grimaced and shook his head. “What do you want from me, Jack?”

“I want us to get past this, because it’s putting stress on our working relationship, not to mention our friendship.”

Daniel looked down at the floor, and he relaxed his arms to hang at his sides. Jack could tell that he was trying to open himself up, and that it was taking an effort. He remained silent, to give Daniel the time he seemed to need to come out of his shell a little. Finally, Daniel looked up. “I’m working on it, Jack. It’s just . . . I can’t imagine . . .” He shook his head. “I don’t want to say the things I’m thinking because they’re not fair, and I know they’re not fair.”

“Daniel!” Jack exclaimed. “Please don’t shut me out.”

“Jack, you’re pushing too hard!” Daniel replied, taking a step forward. “I don’t think you get it. You’re not giving me any space to breathe or think about my reactions. I can’t just . . .” He grimaced as if looking for the right word. “I can’t just shake it off and move on. I need to deal with it in my own way, which doesn’t include listening to you dissect every decision you made on a daily basis. When did you become Mr. Sensitive, let’s talk about our problems?!”

“I am _not_ Mr. Sensitive,” Jack protested.

“You are! You’re turning into some kind of Alan Alda clone, so stop it!”

Jack’s jaw dropped and he stared in utter shock at Daniel. “I am not!”

“Are so,” Daniel rallied.

“Am not!”

“Are so!”

“Am not! Daniel, I don’t understand.” Jack shook his head, resisting the impulse to get up and start pacing. “You’ve always been the one who thought that talk was the answer to most things.”

Daniel crossed his arms again. “You’re right, Jack, you don’t understand.”

When it became clear that Daniel wasn’t going to say anything else in the foreseeable future, Jack took a deep breath. “Well, then help me understand,” he said softly.

Daniel gazed intently at him for several seconds. “Fine,” he said finally, “but I don’t want to go over this conversation repeatedly either.” Jack shook his head earnestly, and Daniel nodded once. “Okay, how many days have we been back from the Enkaran mission?”

Jack did a bit of mental calculation. “Nine.”

“And when was the first time you wanted to ‘talk about things’?”

Jack blinked and then cleared his throat. “The next day, I guess,” he said. “I went into your office and –”

“Right,” Daniel said, cutting him off. “I remember. And we’ve talked about it daily since then.” He uncrossed his arms and stuck his hands firmly in his pockets, as if telling them to stay there. “Oddly enough, I thought maybe I could avoid it today, since I didn’t go to the mountain, but that was clearly a forlorn hope.”

“Okay, so I’ve wanted to get things settled, is that a crime?”

“Jack!” Daniel shook his head and lifted a hand, gesturing to emphasize his words. “A year ago, if we’d had some kind of a disagreement, something like this, where lives were at stake and we were on opposite sides of the issue, what would you have done?” Jack knit his brows. “Come on, Jack, what would your instinct have been?”

Jack grimaced. “I don’t know, Daniel,” he said. “I’ve slept since then.” Daniel’s expression grew even more forbidding. Humor wasn’t going to win him any prizes this time. “Okay, Daniel, let’s not play twenty questions, here. Make your point.”

Daniel glowered, but shrugged resignedly. “You usually ignored my bad mood until it went away. You certainly didn’t beard me in my office the first chance you got.”

Jack stared at Daniel for several seconds, considering this. He put his hands on his hips, and shook his head. “So, let me see if I’ve got this right. You’re actually telling me that if I notice that you’re upset with me about something, the best thing I could possibly do is ignore it? Act like nothing’s wrong until you get over it or don’t?”

“That’s not quite what I said,” Daniel protested. “I –”

“No, it’s exactly what you said.” Jack crossed his arms. “If that’s not what you meant, then what did you mean?”

Daniel took several deep breaths, and Jack wondered what language he was counting to ten in. “I need a little time to adjust my thinking.”

“Adjust your thinking?” Jack repeated.

“Yes, Jack.” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s try this from a different angle. Recent issues aside, we’re very close, wouldn’t you say?”

Jack nodded pensively, not mentioning that he’d like them to be closer. Daniel knew that, they’d talked about it, and they really didn’t need to hash that over again.

“Well, when you’re that close with someone, you tend to assume that they feel the same way you do on most important subjects.” Jack nodded, his brows knitting. He wasn’t sure he understood where this was going. Daniel sighed. “Every so often you remind me that there are some places where we differ greatly, and it takes me a little while to wrap my mind around it.”

“Where did we differ here?” Jack demanded.

“You didn’t see the Gadmere as anything but a threat to the Enkarans. You _wouldn’t_ see them as anything else, no matter what I said to try and broaden your thinking.”

“Daniel, I did want another solution, I asked for one –”

“And when I went looking for one, you got mad at me!”

“Because you went on board a ship that I was preparing to blow up!” Jack exclaimed. “I think that’s the biggest thing we disagree on, when it’s appropriate for you to risk your neck.”

“What we do is risky, Jack, and you can’t ask me to ignore what I believe in because it would make me safer.”

They were both silent for several minutes. Jack couldn’t argue with that, not rationally. Thinking about their conversation, though, he found one thing that puzzled him. “So . . .” Jack shook his head. “I don’t quite grasp what you were angry at me about in the first place.”

“I wasn’t angry,” Daniel said. “I was disturbed.”

“You seemed pretty angry to me.”

“That’s because you were pushing me. I didn’t want to talk about it but you insisted that I had to air my grievances, and then it seemed like all you really wanted to do was explain your reasoning to me. You didn’t really seem all that interested in what I had to say.”

“Daniel, I –”

“You were trying to justify yourself, and I didn’t need you to. I wasn’t mad at you. The problem was mine.”

“I can’t believe you weren’t at least a little pissed.” Daniel shook his head. “I tried to kill you!” Jack expostulated.

“No, you didn’t!” Daniel replied.

“You can ask Teal’c, I –”

“Jack, if you’d set out with the intention of killing me, it would be different. You were just doing what you believed was right.”

Jack stared at Daniel in consternation. “So the one thing you’re not the least bit disturbed by or angry about is the fact that I knowingly gave an order that would have resulted in your death if things had gone the way I expected them to.” Daniel shrugged. “Sometimes I just don’t get you,” Jack said.

“I am who I am, Jack,” Daniel replied, shrugging again.

“I know, and I love you,” Jack said without thinking. Daniel’s eyebrows rose, and Jack realized what he’d said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t – I wasn’t trying – it just slipped out.”

“It’s okay, Jack,” Daniel said. “It’s not like it’s a bad thing, per se.”

“Yes, but I promised myself . . . I don’t want to be too pushy . . . or like I want you to feel guilty . . . it’s not like you asked for . . . wanted . . . not like you have any responsibility or anything . . . I mean –”

“You’re babbling,” Daniel observed. “You’ve got to watch that.”

“It’s your fault,” Jack growled. “If you weren’t so –”

“None of that, now!” Daniel exclaimed. “If I hear another word about how my hair looks like nutmeg . . .”

Jack raised his eyebrows. “Who said that?” he demanded because he knew he hadn’t. “Has someone been hitting on you?” Daniel flushed and shrugged. Jack’s brows drew together. If it was something Daniel didn’t want to admit to . . . why wouldn’t Daniel want to admit to it?   “Daniel?” he asked.

Daniel let out an explosive sigh. “Yes! Okay? Yes, someone has been hitting on me.”

“Who?” The lieutenant in records had a soft spot for Daniel, he knew, and Captain Harris on SG-9 was always giving him encouraging looks. Both women were very nice, reasonably attractive. He could see Daniel flirting with either of them, but he didn’t have to like it.

“His name is Jim,” Daniel said, and Jack’s shoulders stiffened. His? A man was hitting on Daniel? What man? “He lives somewhere around here, I think,” Daniel continued. “He shops at the same grocery store I do, at any rate.”

“Who is this guy?” Jack asked. “Why is he making comments about your hair?”

Daniel blinked at him owlishly, clearly taken aback. “He’s a lawyer. We’ve played chess at that café on the corner a few times, and he asked me out for dinner a couple weeks ago.”

“You went to _dinner_ with him?” Jack stared in utter astonishment. “Do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Jack –” Daniel started in a reasonable tone, but Jack wasn’t in the mood to be reasonable.

“He could have been Jeffrey Daumer! He could have taken you off somewhere and –”

“Jack, we met at a restaurant downtown,” Daniel said irritably. “He didn’t drive me, I didn’t drive him, and –”

“You went out to dinner with him?” Jack said. He knew he sounded pathetic, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

“Yes, Jack, we had Thai food,” Daniel replied, clearly trying to keep this conversation completely matter of fact. “He was very impressed that I could speak to the waiter in his native language, which by the way, was Portuguese, oddly enough.”

One of the things that had told Jack early on how he felt about Sara was his reactions to her talking about other men. Here were those reactions all over again. “You went on a date?”

“It wasn’t a date!” Daniel protested.

“Well, then what was it?” Jack asked.

Daniel looked uncomfortable. “Okay, I guess he thought it was a date, but I thought it was just two guys having dinner. It happens, you know?”

“Two comparative strangers, a nice restaurant . . . did it involve dressing up?”

Daniel glared at him. “You’ll have to forgive me for not assuming that everyone who wants to eat with me finds me attractive in a sexual way.”

“Did he _say_ that?”

“Jack!” Daniel looked deeply embarrassed.

“Did he get pushy?” Jack asked urgently. “Did he push you? Did he _do_ anything?”

“He was a perfect gentleman,” Daniel said. “He just started telling me what he thought of me during dinner. That was when the hair thing came up, among other things.”

“What other things?”

“Jack, I don’t know why you’re so jealous. I’m not remotely interested in him. He’s just a fun person to play chess with, and he enjoys talking about archeology.”

“I’ll just bet he does!”

Daniel’s eyes snapped with blue fire. “Jack, you’re treading on thin ice here. He made a pass at me. I declined. He expressed disappointment, then we started talking about foreign policy. Yes, the rest of dinner was stilted, and yes, he seemed a little tentative the next time I saw him at the café, but since then everything’s been normal. We’re still friends.”

“Sure you are!” Jack growled. “He’s probably just hoping that you’ll change your mind and –” Daniel’s eyebrows were rising towards his hairline, and Jack broke off with a grimace. “Bad parallel, there, I guess,” he said.

“Just a little,” Daniel replied.

“Hey, I was friends with you long before I started –”

Daniel held up a hand, eyes wide with alarm. “Don’t finish that sentence, please.”

Jack grimaced. “Sorry.” Daniel shrugged, then sighed. “So, you’re friends?” Jack asked, and a new thread of jealousy started. “Good friends?” All he had was his friendship with Daniel . . . was that –

“Not as good friends as with you,” Daniel said hastily. “When did you get so insecure?”

“I’m not insecure.” Daniel just looked at him, and Jack crumpled. “Probably at about the time you decided I hated you and wanted to leave SG-1.”

“Oh.” Daniel looked away. Jack didn’t know what else to say. He’d come over here to ask Daniel how to make things up, and things had gotten kind of out of hand. “So,” Daniel said, “you want to go see a movie?”

Jack nodded. Anything to get out of this conversation. “ _Austin Powers_ is playing,” he suggested.

“Let me grab my jacket.”


	2. Chapter 2

When Daniel got in to work the morning after his outing with Jack – he absolutely refused to call it a date, despite Jack’s jokes – both his inboxes were full to overflowing. Daniel sat down glumly and looked at the stacks of files. No doubt half of them at least were in the wrong place. He never could get Captain Tolliver to direct the files correctly, and the folks that brought them in often just dumped the whole stack on his desk to distribute. That tended to cause confusion when Daniel was off planet and no one knew where a file was.

He sorted through the stacks, finding several that were specifically directed to Robert Rothman. Since Robert was still on leave, visiting his brother in Pennsylvania and recuperating from having a Goa’uld in his head, Daniel wasn’t sure why anyone would be addressing files to him, but then he’d never had much success in figuring Tolliver’s system out. The few attempts he’d made to straighten things out had always seemed to get turned around into a big fuss that somehow managed to be his fault.

After some effort, and a couple of phone calls, he figured out where all the files were supposed to wind up and delivered them to the appropriate offices.

At the bottom of the stack he found a pithy little note from Tolliver that complained of missing files and late work. Daniel crumpled it up and filed it where it belonged, under ‘T’ for trash. Last time he’d checked, Tolliver wasn’t his supervisor.

Once all the piles were disseminated, he set to work on his own translations. There were a few that were urgent and top secret, so he started on those first. The day passed swiftly. Jack came just after noon to drag him off to lunch, and then, the next thing Daniel knew, he looked up to rub a crick out of his neck and it was eight-thirty.

He stood up and stretched till he felt three vertebrae pop. His computer had the little icon that told him he had e-mail that he hadn’t seen yet, so he sat down and took a look. Among various professional communications there was one e-mail from Jack, sent at six-forty-five. There was no message, but the subject line read, “Go home, you workaholic.”

Chuckling, Daniel shut down his machine, turned off his lamps and went to the locker room. By the time he finally signed out, it was nearly nine o’clock, and he sighed. Jack was bound to check in the morning. When Jack got onto one of these ‘Daniel works too hard’ kicks, he started noting every little detail of Daniel’s work habits, and bugging him about them. He did it to Sam, too, sometimes.

Daniel got into his car and drove home. It was a beautiful evening, just enough snow had fallen to frost the world with glittering white trimmings, and the moon was full, casting silvery light over the landscape.

The light was blinking on his answering machine when he got to his apartment, so he pressed the button and went into the kitchen to heat up some soup for dinner.

The first message was from a credit card company, with some ‘free’ offer that he had a limited time to take advantage of. The second was Barnes & Noble letting him know that the books he had ordered were in. He’d have to head over there tomorrow after work. The machine beeped again, and Jim’s voice came on.

“Hey, Daniel, I enjoyed our dinner the other night. How about we do it again, Mexican this time. I’ve got a couple of nights free next week. Let me know.” He gave his number and then hung up.     Daniel pursed his lips. What would Jack say if he knew? Not that it mattered, Daniel could make up his own mind, but Jack’s reaction had been pretty intense.

The beep sounded again, and now Jack’s voice came out of the machine, startling Daniel. Any half-formed notions that Jack had somehow magically picked up on Jim’s phone call were quickly put to rest, though. “So, Daniel, I hope you’re home before ten. I know better than to hope for before nine. Go to bed. We’re going to have a mission later this week, so you need to rest up.”

Daniel snorted. That was Jack, always pushing something. Pulling the bowl of soup out of the microwave, Daniel went out into the living room and sat down. He turned the TV on and ate while he watched an episode of _Law & Order._

What was he going to do about Jack? This wasn’t the first time Daniel had been hit on by a guy, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. He wasn’t sure if he just projected ambiguity or what, but he got more come-ons from guys than girls. He wondered if Jack had been jealous of Sara like this, but it wasn’t like he could ask. The image of that was unfunny to say the least. He couldn’t begin to guess how she’d react to the idea that Jack had fallen in love with a guy.

In love. Daniel was still having troubles with that idea, despite his determination to accept that if Jack said it was true, then it followed that it was true. There wasn’t any reason to doubt it, really. Jack had nothing to gain and a hell of a lot to lose by the declaration. Nevertheless, it left Daniel feeling very puzzled.

The phone rang and he picked it up, expecting it to be Jack, checking to make sure he got home. Instead, Sam responded to his greeting. She got straight to the point after apologizing for calling so late. “Do you know what’s up with the colonel?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s called here three times to find out if I’ve gone home yet. Is he bugging you?”

Daniel smiled. “Oh yeah, but I’ve managed to avoid direct contact. He’s just leaving me messages.”

“Oh, well, I’m glad it’s not just me.”

“Why _are_ you still there at ten-thirty?” he asked.

“Don’t you start,” she said with feeling.

“I’m just curious, Sam. What are you working on?”

The explanation that followed was very detailed and utterly fascinating, but Daniel found that it went in one ear and out the other. He got that it was about quantum mechanics, naquadah and some kind of magnetism, but beyond that he was lost.

“Are you going to be able to go home soon?”

“Probably in the next hour or so, but I may just find a bed in the barracks.”

“Well, be warned, he’s probably using up the memory in your answering machine.” There was a call waiting beep on his line. “I bet that’s him. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay. See if you can mollify him somehow.”

Daniel choked. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Sam was silent for a second. “What do you mean, ‘what do I mean?’”

“I mean what do you mean?” She didn’t know. She couldn’t know. And if she did know, she couldn’t be suggesting . . .

“I don’t know!” she said, sounding exasperated. “Try to convince him that if he keeps calling me, I’ll never get to bed.”

“I don’t – I mean – I think –” Daniel realized that he was so incoherent that he hadn’t even reached the level of babbling and took a deep breath. “Sure, Sam, I’ll try,” he said. Clearly she didn’t know, and he just sounded like an idiot.

“Are you okay, Daniel?” she asked, the concern in her voice telling him that he was right.

“I’m fine,” he said brightly. The phone beeped again, insistently.

She paused, then said, “Are you alone?”

He choked again, and coughed. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I hear someone talking in the background, and you just seem . . . I don’t know . . . odd somehow. Is something wrong?”

“Nope. Everything is just fine. I’ve got the TV on.”

“Okay . . .” she said dubiously. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” He hung up the phone and almost as soon as it hit the hook, it rang, making him jump. He picked it up, feeling like a moron. “Hello?”

“Daniel, you are home,” Jack said energetically. “At least one of you has some sense.”

“Hi, Jack, how are you,” Daniel said ironically.

“I’m fine, but Carter’s still on base messing about with naquadah or something. What did I do to get saddled with all the overachievers?”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m sure there are at least one or two overachievers on other teams,” he said.

“There is only one Daniel Jackson and only one Sam Carter, and nobody exceeds either of you on that score. I have it on the authority of the other team leaders, no one even equals either one of you.”

“And how many of those guys would disagree with you?” Daniel asked innocently. “Being your subordinates in a military hierarchy, and all.”

“Why would they disagree?” Jack asked, sounding honestly puzzled.

“If they didn’t think it was true,” Daniel said.

“Daniel!” Jack exclaimed. “They think it’s true.”

“Well, I’m home, and _Law & Order_ is almost over. Is there anything else? What’s this about a mission?”

“I don’t actually know anything yet. Hammond told me he’d rostered something just before I left. I think the briefing is on Wednesday. P3R-something.”

Daniel let out an irritable sigh. “P3R-something,” Daniel repeated. “Very informative. I’ll see you in the morning, Jack.”

“Good night, Daniel,” Jack said.


	3. Chapter 3

Carter and Daniel were excited. P3R-118 was evidently a technologically and culturally advanced civilization that was surviving an ice age through sheer force of will. Jack thought it sounded like a typically boring science mission, but he didn’t say anything. Daniel’s eyes were shining, and Jack didn’t want to put a damper on his enthusiasm.

Instead, he listened intently and tried earnestly not to think about kneeling over a naked Daniel lying on his back on this table, his eyes filled with the light of ardor, his hands . . .

Jack forced his thoughts back to the meeting. “We need an evaluation of just how much more advanced their technology is over ours,” Hammond was saying. “We need to know what they have to offer, and what we can offer in return.”

“Right,” Carter said with a grin.

Hammond turned to Jack. “I’ll also need an idea of their military capabilities and the use to which they put them. We don’t want another Euronda.”

“Definitely not,” Jack said.

“I think that about wraps it up,” Hammond said.

“When do we leave?” Daniel asked.

“I’ve got you scheduled for Friday at 1400 hours. Are there any other questions?” No one spoke. “Very well, dismissed.”

Nodding at them, Hammond rose and left the room. Jack looked around at the others, gathering up stuff, getting ready to go. “So, how’s about a team dinner tonight?” he asked. “We haven’t had one of those in at least a . . .” He paused thoughtfully.

“At least a week, I think, Jack,” Daniel said with a touch of amusement in his tone. “I have no objections.”

“Sounds good,” Carter said.

“I will be there with bells on, O’Neill,” Teal’c said, and Jack looked at him, his brows knit at the unexpected turn of phrase. Teal’c blinked and turned to Daniel. “Is that not what that expression means, DanielJackson?”

Daniel snorted and put a hand on Teal’c’s shoulder, turning him and guiding him out of the room. “Yes, it does, Teal’c, but I’ve told you about using figures of speech around Jack.”

Jack scowled. Carter looked up at him, her eyes innocently wide but dancing with amusement. “I’ll see you later, sir,” she said as she left the briefing room.

He walked up to the window. A team was preparing for departure. SG-10 on their way to see new things on a new world. Sumner was checking each one of his team to make sure they were ready to go. Hammond walked out onto the floor and had a brief conversation with Sumner, then nodded to Harriman in the control room. The gate started spinning and the chevrons engaged, then the vortex of brilliant blue energy surged out, like a rush of water, then settled back into a shimmering circle. Even now, after five years of knowing what it could do, Jack was still occasionally awed by the power and apparent simplicity of it.

Some of the top scientists in the nation had worked on the various projects that had been attempted to get the gate to work. They’d even opened the gate once in the forties – once – but the unfortunate results of that effort had closed down that experiment. It had taken Daniel to put it all together into a real program. His insight, his ability to put two and two together and come up with five, his talent for persuading people to do what he thought they should do . . .

Even Carter had been mistaken about key facts regarding the gate. She, and all the other scientists, had been utterly convinced that the gate only went to Abydos. It didn’t make sense at the time, why would anyone set up a gate between Earth and that God forsaken planet? Neither one was paradise, and they knew for fact now that there were other sources for naquadah.

No, Daniel was the motivating force behind this whole program, the conscience of the SGC. The last time Jack had ignored that, it had cost him dearly. Daniel. All his thoughts lately reverted to Daniel.

Brilliant, bold, beautiful, brainier than any three men put together, bewitching . . . Jack sighed. When exactly had he fallen in love with Daniel? He knew when he’d realized it, on Edora, while he was trapped on the other side of a buried stargate, but it had been the recognition of an emotion, not the beginning of one.

It was impossible to trace the start. He’d tried more than once, on Edora and after his return to Earth. Back to the beginning, he’d thought Daniel was an irritating geek, one who promised bigger than he could deliver. Later, Daniel saved his life at the cost of his own. Neither of them knew at the time that Ra could bring him back, so it had been considerably more than a gesture. It had been a declaration that life was so important to that man that he’d risk his own to save it.

Since at the time he’d been bent on suicide, it had made something of an impression on him. Leaving him behind had been a wrench, but he couldn’t deny the shining happiness in his eyes.

Then he’d returned to Abydos to fetch him home again at General Hammond’s request. Upon seeing him again, Jack hadn’t known what to do with his feelings, so he’d wound up snubbing him. Maybe it was back that far. Maybe it dated back even farther, to when he left him behind. Jack didn’t know.

What he did know was that Daniel was now the focus around which his life revolved.

Time was passing, and a nagging voice told him he had reports to review, idiots to discipline, and he really should stop daydreaming about Daniel on base.

* * *

The four of them met at the Outback. Once upon a time, they’d gone to O’Malley’s for these events, but Daniel, Carter and he had made themselves unwelcome there on one memorable occasion when Daniel had elected not to let some twit call him names.

Carter settled in to tell them all about some of her ideas about naquadah and quantum mechanics. Even Daniel’s eyes crossed within five minutes. Finally, Daniel cleared his throat. “I’m really, sorry, Sam, but could you translate into English for the physically challenged among us?”

Jack glared at him, though he was pretty sure that Daniel had meant something other than what it sounded like he meant. “Would you care to rephrase that, Dr. Jackson?” he suggested.

Daniel was blinking. “I didn’t mean that quite how it came out,” he said. “I meant physics-challenged.”

Carter laughed. “Right, well, it sums up to . . .” She paused. “Um . . . I’m not sure I can sum it up. It’s a little too complicated and theoretical right now.”

Jack grimaced. “Well, then, Carter, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, but let’s leave it at that.”

She grinned. “I can do that, sir. So, what have the rest of you been up to?”

“I have been training the new recruits that O’Neill brought in,” Teal’c said into the silence. “Some of them are proving to be challenging.”

“Challenging how?” Daniel asked. Teal’c raised an eyebrow. “I mean, are they hard to train, or are they good opponents in the practice ring?”

Teal’c considered the question. “For the most part, I am finding it difficult to impress upon some of them the true level of danger they face in the fight with the Goa’uld. They seem to be reluctant to think about alien life forms and cannot grasp the differences between Jaffa and Goa’uld and Tok’ra.” He smiled very slightly. “There is one among them who is proving to be a pleasure to train, however. He is good in the practice ring and he is quick to understand what I am attempting to teach him.

“That’s the best kind of student,” Daniel said, and Jack looked at him curiously. “I’ve taught,” the archeologist said defensively.

“I know, we’ve talked about it,” Jack replied blandly, leaving Daniel nothing to growl about. Daniel looked mistrustfully at him, and Carter exchanged a knowing look with Teal’c. Abruptly, Jack found himself just _how_ knowing . . . Teal’c wouldn’t have mentioned anything to Carter, would he? Surely not.

Daniel looked at the pair of them, then gave Jack a mildly alarmed look that he had no trouble interpreting, but there wasn’t anything to say about it now, certainly not in this public arena.

“I’ve been having a great deal of fun discovering just how badly some of our colleagues express themselves in writing,” Jack said. “I sent four reports back to their writers for clarification today.”

“I’ve heard that you can be hell on those,” Daniel observed. “I’m glad I don’t have to pass your muster.”

“No, Daniel, because then I’d be sending it back to you repeatedly with notes like, ‘could you put this in laymen’s terms, please?’ or ‘huh?’”

Daniel’s eyes were full of sardonic humor when he said, “Exactly.”

Jack felt rather like he’d been teasing someone who’d bitten him back, and he didn’t quite know how to respond.

“What about you, Daniel?”

“Oh, the never ending round of translation, interrupted periodically by the need to figure out who needs what file when they’re all dumped on my desk.” Jack stared at him in startlement. Carter started to make some joke, but then noticed Jack’s expression and said nothing. Daniel shifted uncomfortably. “What, Jack?”

“Are you saying that the records goons just dump all the files for your department on your desk for you to sort out?”

Daniel shrugged. “Sure. I figure it’s a holdover from the days when it was just me.” He blinked at Jack as if puzzled. “What’s the big deal?”

Carter and Teal’c were looking uneasy, but Jack was a little too focused on the issue to try to reassure them. Eyes narrowing, he said, “And when you say ‘figure out,’ do you mean that you just have to look at the transfer sheets and see whose name is on it?”

Daniel grimaced. “Look, Jack, it’s not a –”

“Daniel, please answer the question,” Jack said patiently.

“Jack, I –” Daniel glared at him. “No, Jack. Tolliver and his guys rarely actually put names to the files. They usually put something vague like linguistics on the ‘name’ line. What of it? It’s good enough for government work, as they say.”

“No,” Jack sat flatly. “It’s not.”

“The SGC does not have a linguistics department,” Teal’c said.

“No, we don’t,” Carter replied. “Daniel, are you serious? Because everything that comes to my lab has my name on it.”

“So it’s the standard crap some military guys dish out to civilians. It doesn’t take that long to sort things out, and it only occasionally causes real problems, so –”

“But it does cause real problems?” Jack asked. “And how long is ‘not that long’?”

Daniel pursed his lips and gazed at Jack, his eyes full of irritation. He glanced over at Carter and Teal’c. “You’re spoiling the mood, Jack. Can’t we talk about this later?”

It was on the tip of Jack’s tongue to say that they would talk about it now, but he thought twice and shrugged. In the silence that followed, Carter took up the conversation in a brightly cheerful voice. For a while, it was only she and Teal’c who were talking, but eventually Daniel lost his slightly sullen look and joined in. It took Jack a little longer, but they were laughing again before dessert came.

* * *

Jack walked into Daniel’s office the next morning and waited for the archeologist to notice him. He appeared to be ears deep in something, and Jack had learned to his detriment how badly Daniel reacted to being interrupted.

Without looking up, Daniel said, “If this is about what we were discussing last night, Jack, I don’t want to talk about it. There’s no point.”

“Daniel, there is a point. It can’t be permitted to go on.”

“Right, well, I don’t want to make a fuss, so let’s just let it drop, okay?”

“Daniel, I am not going to tolerate –”

Daniel turned on him. “Jack, you’re really not in a position to get on anyone’s back for being a jackass towards me, now, are you?” he said, his tone deadly calm. Jack blinked at him. “People are waiting for you to revert, you know. I’ve heard people talking, and people have even asked me if your behavior in private is the same as your behavior in public." Jack stared at him in shock that Daniel apparently mistook for a lack of comprehension because he amplified. “In other words, are you still being the same jerk to me when no one else is watching?” Daniel grimaced. “You start riding Tolliver, he’ll just take it for guilt or something. He won’t take it seriously, and it might just make things worse. I don’t need that. The last time I tried to talk to him about it, he made out like I was a flaky civilian who didn’t know which end of a transfer form was up. Since you were acting like you thought it was true, there wasn’t much I could do about it.”

Jack cleared his throat to try and regain the voice the Daniel’s bitterness had taken away. “You could always have taken it to Hammond,” he said tentatively.

“Right,” Daniel said, rolling his eyes. “Somehow inadequately filled out forms and minor variations in procedure seem to be a little petty to take to Hammond.” Put that way, Jack could see his point. “And who’s he going to believe on the subject of my flakiness? I’m really not in the mood to be patted on the head and told to go back to work like a good little archeologist.”

“Hammond wouldn’t do that, Daniel, and you have evidence of the –”

Daniel let out an irritable sigh. “I have work to do, Jack. We’re leaving tomorrow at two o’clock, and I need to get a few things done before then, if you don’t mind?”

“Sure,” Jack said, feeling rebuked. He turned to go, but Daniel called him back.

“Oh, and Jack?” He turned to face Daniel again. “Please don’t take this to Hammond. The last thing I need is for the military ‘goons’ as you called them to think I went crying to my CO about this.” Jack nodded numbly, and Daniel’s cold blue eyes softened a bit. “Jack, I know you mean well, and I know you wish those couple of months never happened, but the fact is that they did, and we have to accept the consequences.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel,” Jack said.

A smile lit Daniel’s face. “I know, Jack. It’s okay. But I really do have a lot of work to get done. Robert won’t be back for at least a week, which leaves Cameron, Nyan and Martin, none of whom have the experience or the background to translate some of the stuff I’m working on now.”

“All right,” Jack said. “But I’ll be back to kidnap you for lunch.”

“The sooner you leave, the more I’ll get done before then,” Daniel said with a grin that took any possible sting out of the words.

Jack went out and sighed. He had royally screwed up. He didn’t want to believe that Daniel was right, but most of what he’d said made a frightening amount of sense.


	4. Chapter 4

Daniel picked up the print out for the translation he’d just finished and read it through to make certain that there were no errors. Reassured, he tucked it and the photographs of the artifact into the folder in their proper places. Then he filled out a fresh file transfer form – correctly – and put it in the stack that was due to go out in the interoffice mail.

He looked up at the clock and hoped there was nothing wrong. Jack was nothing if not predictable, and it was nearly quarter past one. He wouldn’t have expected Jack to be any later than twelve-thirty.

Evaluating his hunger level, he reached for another file, but before he’d done much more than spread the photocopies of the document out on his desk, Jack came in.

“You know,” he said, “just because I’m running late, you don’t have to wait for me.”

Daniel shrugged. “Not really hungry,” he said. “Besides, what makes you think I didn’t already go to lunch?”

Jack gave him an incredulous look. “I _know_ you, Daniel,” he said. “Come on. It’s meatloaf day, and I know how you love that.”

“It’s food,” Daniel replied, shrugging.

“True enough,” Jack said. “Which is kind of the whole point of ‘lunch,’ after all.” He raised his eyebrows. “You haven’t moved yet. It’s lunchtime. Let’s go.”

With a parting look at the project he’d just started, Daniel followed him. When Jack was in this mood, there wasn’t much point in fighting him.

They wound up in an elevator alone, and Jack turned to him immediately, as if seizing an opportunity. “So, tell me something, Daniel,” he said. His tone was light and so casual that it aroused Daniel’s suspicion.

“What?” he asked.

“Did this whole file transfer crap begin before or after I started being an asshole?”

Daniel blinked. “I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s one question, Daniel, and then I’ll leave it alone.”

Daniel pursed his lips. Jack seemed sincere, but . . . “It doesn’t change anything, you know. You’ve still burnt your bridges on this subject. You can’t –”

“Just answer the question, Daniel. Did this file transfer crap start before I was being an asshole?”

“Jack –”

“Yes or no,” Jack prompted firmly.

"Yes," Daniel said. "But we’ve already established that there’s really nothing you can do about it.”

“I have no intention of doing anything, Daniel,” Jack said.

Daniel blinked, a little surprised by how disappointed he was. Suppressing the irrational reaction, he said, “Good.” It sounded anemic, so he repeated it for good measure. “Good.”

The elevator doors opened and Jack gestured Daniel out first. The meatloaf was fairly fresh, and the moment Daniel smelled it, his stomach woke up and began to demand food.

Daniel watched Jack covertly during lunch. He seemed the same as he always had. He really had managed to conceal his feelings. Daniel was thankful. There had been a couple of close calls, where he was sure that one of them was going to say or do something that would give everything away.

He truly didn’t understand how something like this could have happened. Truthfully, he wasn’t altogether sure why anyone found him attractive in the first place. Despite his occasional protests over Jack calling him by that name, he was well aware that he was a geek. He’d had a few relationships before Sha’re and her father had picked him for her husband, but they had all been based on shared academic interests and similar experiences, or so he’d thought. He didn’t see in himself what so many others seem to see in him.

Never before Sha’re had anyone specifically stated an interest in him because of his looks. His earlier lovers had talked about his looks, but he’d always kind of assumed that was romantic hyperbole that bore little resemblance to the truth. Jim had been fairly specific, though, and so had Sha’re. Hathor was more than specific, she was eloquent. Several women he’d met over the last few years had spoken to him about how good looking he was, one had even described him as a ‘hottie.’

He didn’t get it. He was an ordinary looking, average build, kind of bland workaholic personality. What was so attractive? Even more, what could be so attractive as to get a normally straight man’s interest?

“Daniel!”

He started at Jack’s voice and blinked at him. Jack was looking at him with mild alarm. “What?”

“Where did you go?” Jack asked. “You seemed to zone for a while.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“Pretty deeply, I guess,” Jack said. “Care to share?”

“Not unless you’re up to discussing verb declensions,” Daniel said disingenuously.

“No, thanks all the same.” Jack shook his head. “Daniel, can’t you come up with anything more fun to think about?”

Daniel blinked innocently. “Verb declensions _are_ fun, Jack.” He looked up at the clock. “I’d better be getting back to work.”

“Fine, but plan to be out of here by six tonight.” Daniel raised his eyebrows and Jack gave him the ‘your colonel knows what’s best for you’ look. “I want you rested tomorrow. Sounds like the mission is more your pidgin than mine, and I want you at the top of your form.”

Daniel grinned down at Jack as he stood up. “I hear and obey,” he said.

As he walked away, he heard Jack mutter, “Yeah, I wish.” Shaking his head with amusement, Daniel reflected that unquestioning obedience was the last thing Jack wanted from him, if his own words could be believed.

He wasn’t sure what to think. There was no doubt in his mind that he felt more than simple friendship for Jack, but he didn’t think that what he felt was what Jack wanted him to feel.

* * *

Jack watched Daniel leave, keeping his expression impassive while he watched those delicious buttocks moving under his fatigues. When Daniel was out of sight, he sighed and walked back to his own office. He hadn’t missed the slight disappointment that had crossed Daniel’s face when he’d said he wasn’t going to do anything about Tolliver, so he hoped what he did plan to do would meet with Daniel’s approval.

He wanted desperately to see those blue eyes flashing with passion, but he would prefer that the passion wasn’t anger at him. There were moments when he wished he was several thousand years older, or from a strange new culture that Daniel wanted to know something about, so he could garner all the man’s attention to himself.

Jack had heard some of the younger female lieutenants talking about Daniel around the corner from his office one day recently. His eyes, his hair, his long, lean frame that concealed a startling strength . . . he’d almost wished he could join them. It would be nice to be able to discuss his feelings with a sympathetic audience. He couldn’t air his feelings in any way except with Teal’c, who didn’t completely understand the romantic nature of Jack’s emotions.

Jack wanted to write love poems, and he was extremely angry with Jim, whoever the hell he was, for coming up with the comparison to nutmeg before he had. It was bad enough that Daniel was playing chess with someone else, but for that someone else to be coming up with novel ways to describe Daniel’s beauty was simply unacceptable. He consoled himself with the knowledge that Jim couldn’t possibly know Daniel as well as he did, having never experienced the disasters and triumphs with him that Jack had.

His jealousy had come as something of a surprise to him. The idea that there was a man out there, a man he didn’t know, who was regarding Daniel as a potential lover disturbed him deeply. He had a feeling, though, that if he took action to find out who Jim was, Daniel would have a completely justified conniption fit.

That didn’t stop him from contemplating methods, however, and he broke his thoughts off as he started formulating a likely scheme.

He’d come here to see about when he could bring Sciaparelli here. The surgery had been some weeks ago, and there was about a six week convalescent period which they were now well into. He’d heard nothing regarding his request for the young man’s transfer to the SGC, so now it was time to rattle a few cages.

He placed a call to General Piedmont.

* * *

Tony stared at the TV screen, willing something interesting to come on. Admittedly the forensic shows beat soap operas hands down, but they seemed to repeat more frequently than they should. He had another week of complete rest before physical therapy started, and he was just lucky that his brother Michael went to Georgetown and had a spare bed, or he’d have been stuck in a barracks somewhere.

“Tony, you need anything?” Mike called as he thundered down the stairs of the apartment, a pack on his back that made him look like he belonged in Notre Dame. “I’ve got class in about twenty minutes, but if you need a soda or something . . .”

“I’m good, Mike. Go on.”

With a flashing grin, Mike ran out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind him with a bang. Tony chuckled. Mike was certainly making the most out of not having Mom around to yell about loud noises.

Tony returned his attention to _History’s Crimes and Trials_. Serial killers were so fascinating. He sighed. It was either that or _Blue’s Clues_ or something about a ten-year-old bear named Rupert.

The phone rang and Tony muted the TV. Even listening to one of Mike’s friends banter in the lame way that adolescents viewed as ‘cool’ would be better than what was on TV right now.

“Hello?”

“Michael, is your brother there?”

Tony blinked. “Uncle Solly?” he said, startled. “This is Tony.”

“Tony, you sound great,” his uncle said. “From what your mother said, I half-expected to find you at death’s door.”

Tony snorted. “Ma exaggerates, Uncle Solly, you know that. Remember how she used to talk about Theresa’s asthma? You’d have thought she was a shut-in instead of a star field hockey player.”

Solly laughed. “Yes, that’s true. Well, what have you been doing with yourself?”

“Not much,” Tony said. “Not much I can do right now.”

“I suppose not. How badly are you off, really?”

“I start physical therapy next week, and it can’t be a moment too soon for me. My mother didn’t train her kids to sit on their butts.”

“No, I remember,” Solly said. “Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re on the mend.” He paused. “I’m kind of surprised that you haven’t called me to see if I can pull strings for you to stay in this time.”

Tony shrugged. “I already asked you once. I shouldn’t have then. I didn’t want to take advantage.”

“Since when is taking advantage a bad thing, Tony?” Solly asked. “What good is having a three star general for an uncle if you can’t get him to pull strings from time to time? Nepotism is the military way.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Thanks, Uncle Solly, but I don’t want someone to make a job for me.”

“I know, Tony,” Solly said. “But it seems like someone is taking care of the whole situation for me. What did you do to make Colonel Jack O’Neill so impressed with you?”

Blinking, Tony shook his head. “I really don’t know, sir,” he said. “How did you hear about it?”

“Well, it seems that O’Neill is barking up General Piedmont’s tree, and Al thought he’d better check with me before he sent you off to this particular base. How much do you know about it?”

“That they don’t do deep space radar telemetry, and they have a triple doctorate in anthropology, archeology and linguistics working for them. Beyond that, zilch.”

“Well, I can’t tell you much over the phone, but I can say that your clearance would have to be raised a notch or two for this job. Not that you don’t rate it, like Al says, but this isn’t the safest place in the world to be. It’s stateside, but it’s got the highest casualty and mortality rates of any stateside base, bar none. Are you sure you want to go there?”

Tony pursed his lips. “Tell me, sir, do you know what they do there?”

“I do.”

“Would you go there if you had the chance?”

“God help me, if I were twenty years younger . . .”

“Then yes, sir, I want to go. If I would be of use.”

“Your mother’s going to kill me,” Solly said, sounding despairing.

“What Ma doesn’t know can’t hurt her, and she doesn’t have clearance, does she?”

“Hey, mind your manners,” Solly snapped, but Tony could tell he was amused.

“Yes sir.”

“I’ll give my blessing to Al then, and you can start looking for someplace to live in Colorado Springs.”


	5. Chapter 5

Jack turned and looked his team over, making sure they were all ready to move out. Teal’c was strapping something down more firmly on Daniel’s back. From the grin on the archeologist’s face and the amused lift of a single eyebrow by the Jaffa, Jack guessed that Daniel was making some kind of a joke. He wondered what it was.

Carter’s eyes shone as she no doubt contemplated the opportunities this mission offered to expand her scientific knowledge.

They all met his eyes as he gazed around at them and nodded to show that they were set to go.

Hammond walked into the gateroom. “Ready, colonel?” he asked.

“We are, sir,” Jack replied.

Hammond nodded seriously and looked at all of SG-1. “Well, you all know the mission. Standard contact schedule, and Godspeed.” He gestured to Harriman, on duty in the control room, and the gate whirled to life.

The MALP had already been through the gate, and a welcoming party had gathered to greet them, or so he understood. Daniel spoke earlier with someone named Calder and had arranged for them to be accorded diplomatic status.

Jack hoped this would be a nice, boring mission, quick and easy, no real problems.

Once they were through the gate, he found himself in the middle of a large, spacious room that contained a number of artifacts, some Goa’uld, some not. It was clearly a museum. There was a DHD situated at the usual distance away from the gate, but on the same level, so that anyone who dialed the gate would have to dodge the kawoosh. Kind of inconvenient for quick getaways, he thought.

A number of people had assembled at the gate to welcome them. The gathered men and women exuded self-importance, and Jack restrained himself from rolling his eyes. They were all dressed in dull colors, their garments had the slightly uniform look of business attire. A short, skinny guy walked forward. He looked like a brown rat, all smarm and conceit, but he was smiling and didn’t seem remotely threatening. As the man approached, Daniel glanced at Jack for permission. Jack had already scanned the room and assessed the hazards to be about average, so he nodded. Daniel moved to join the man.

“Greetings,” the local said with a polite nod. “Welcome to Ralnethi. I am Administrator Calder.”

“I am Dr. Daniel Jackson,” Daniel said. “This is Colonel O’Neill, Major Carter and Teal’c. As I told you before, we are peaceful explorers.”

Calder glanced at the rest of them with a gracious smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It is an honor to welcome you to our city. Would you care for a tour of our administrative facilities before the evening meal?”

Daniel glanced at him, his eyes full of the awareness that Jack would rather gargle with broken glass than tour anyone’s ‘administrative facility.’ Jack gave in to the inevitable with as much grace as he could muster and nodded his agreement. Calder turned assessing eyes on him, but returned his attention to Daniel when the archeologist spoke. “Certainly.”

Fortunately, the tour was short and relatively sweet, then their hosts guided them to a room that looked as if it might double as a boardroom as well as a banquet hall. Jack excused himself and Carter to return to the gate and make the ‘all’s well’ report. A young man of about twenty guided them, and though Jack tried several times to draw him out, the boy never spoke. Jack wasn’t sure if he was shy or if he’d been instructed to keep quiet. He was dressed differently than the others, in a sleeveless tunic and trousers, and he wore a bead necklace.

When they returned, they found that dinner had been delayed for them and, making their apologies, they sat down to the table with the others. Jack listened to the diplomatic small talk while they ate. Clearly these folks didn’t like to mix business with pleasure, and eating at that table was a definite pleasure. Succulent meats, tender vegetables with pleasantly spiced sauces, and some berry-like pastry for dessert.

After dinner, about half the complement of locals filed out with polite farewells, and Jack guessed they must be the significant others of those that remained. Ah, down to business. Jack sat up a little straighter.

Administrator Calder rose. “Would you believe, given the vegetables and fruits provided at tonight’s table, that my planet is in the grips of a devastating ice age that has blanketed our world with glacial ice and snow?”

Jack stared at Calder with astonishment. An ice age? He hadn’t noticed any snow in the streets when he’d looked out the windows, though the sky had seemed kind of odd.

“Is that why the city is domed?” Carter asked, and he turned to stare at her.

“It is,” Calder said. “Thus far we have survived three hundred and fifty-seven years of killing cold, thanks to hard work and the ingenuity of our scientists.”

“Really?” Carter leaned forward. “I’d be very interested to see how that works.”

“Tomorrow Fiona will show you all around the city. She will take you to some of our labs and engineering facilities.” A stately older woman with graying black hair nodded from halfway down the table.

“I’d like that very much,” Carter said.

“Why did you not seek greener pastures through the stargate?” Teal’c asked suddenly.

“Yes,” Daniel seconded. “You didn’t seem all that surprised to find that it was a . . . a transportation device.”

“We did not know that the transport ring was still functional,” the man next to Calder said. “Early in our efforts to survive the cold, our scientists attempted to make it work, but they had no success.”

Calder nodded. “That is why the ring was placed in the Hall of Learning. We knew from the ancient writings that people used to travel through it, but we came to believe that it no longer functioned.”

“It’s really just a question of finding the right combinations of symbols on the dialing device,” Daniel said. “Though I’d recommend raising the gate or lowering the dialing device before doing much in the way of experimentation.”

“Yes, you said that splash of energy could be deadly,” Calder said.

Carter opened her mouth to respond, but Jack leaned forward. “We can provide considerably more information about the gate and how it works,” Jack said. “Assuming we can work out an equitable trade.”

Daniel blinked a lot, looking slightly abashed, and Carter bit her lip.

“Of course,” Calder said. “Perhaps you will see something that interests you on your tour tomorrow.”

“Perhaps we shall,” Jack replied. He couldn’t put his finger on why exactly, but the guy put his back up. Daniel shot him a subtle look of reproach. In a more friendly voice, Jack spoke again. “In the meantime, it’s getting late. I’ll need to check in with our home base periodically, so if you can show us to our rooms and then delegate someone to show me how to get back to the gate from there, I’d very much appreciate it.”

Calder made the appropriate arrangements and they retired. They had a suite with four bedrooms, but Jack didn’t like having them all split up that way. “Usual tent buddies,” he ordered. Daniel gave him an odd look, but didn’t object. Carter and Teal’c just nodded. “Get some sleep, everyone. We need our rest for the big tour tomorrow.”

“Yes sir,” Carter said, and Teal’c nodded.

Daniel headed into one of the bedrooms and Jack followed him. “So, are we allowed to shower, mon capitaine?” he asked ironically.

“If you want to,” Jack said. “But not solo.”

“I am not showering with you, Jack,” Daniel said instantly, as if instinctively.

Jack blinked at him and shifted uncomfortably. That hadn’t been quite what he meant, but Daniel’s leap to that left him feeling both aroused and provoked. “What, would you rather I sent Carter?” he asked sarcastically.

“Yes, she’s not interested in me s –” Daniel broke off, looking appalled at himself.

Jack felt rather hurt. “I’ve been interested in you for some time, Daniel,” he said. “And we’ve showered together for years. I haven’t grabbed anything yet.”

“I don’t know where that came from,” Daniel said, his eyelashes fluttering as they always did when he was nervous and conciliatory. “I didn’t mean –”

“Yes, you did,” Jack said gently. “And it’s okay. I should have expected it. I just don’t know how I’ll explain a change in sleeping arrangements to Carter and Teal’c without arousing her suspicion that were still mad at each other or something.” Jack turned towards the door, heartsick. Daniel didn’t trust him as much as he’d thought, but it wasn’t like he’d done a whole lot to earn his trust lately.

“No, Jack!” Daniel caught his arm. “No, I really don’t know where that came from. I know you wouldn’t . . . ever . . . you’re not that kind of person. I just . . .” He shook his head. “Forget about it, okay?”

“It isn’t even what I meant,” Jack said, immensely reassured. “I just don’t want anyone that vulnerable without someone guarding the entrance. We’ll take turns.”

“Sure, you go first,” Daniel said. “Then you can tell me if the water’s cold or not.”

“Thanks, Daniel, I’ll do that,” Jack said, counting it a victory that Daniel looked mildly outraged and very surprised as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

When Daniel came out, Jack stretched. “Why don’t you take the side of the bed away from the door,” he suggested. “I’d feel safer with you over there.”

Daniel shrugged and walked around to the other side of the bed. Jack turned around and picked up the covers, steeling himself for what was bound to be a difficult situation.

“Jack, if you aren’t comfortable with this, I could sleep on the floor,” Daniel said. “I mean, it’s asking a lot of you.”

“I’m fine, Daniel. Get in and . . . pipe down.”

“If you’re sure . . .”

For answer, Jack got into the bed and punched the pillow a couple of times before laying flat on his back. A moment later, the bed dipped and he knew that Daniel had settled down.

* * *

Light hitting his eyelids woke Jack up. He sighed. Morning sucked. There was an odd weight on his left arm . . . in fact there was something pressed against the entire left side of his body. He opened his eyes slowly and realized two things. He was offworld, and Daniel was cuddled up against his side.

The certainty that Daniel was going to kill him warred with a feeling of perfect rightness. Daniel was in his arms, pressed close, his head resting on Jack’s shoulder. He wanted desperately to caress Daniel’s arm, to stroke his hair, but he didn’t dare. If Daniel woke in the midst of something like that, he _would_ kill Jack, and with good reason. Jack would kill Jack.

Instead he lay there, enjoying the sensation while it lasted, wondering if even that was inappropriate. It probably was, but he couldn’t bring himself to move, not when he could watch Daniel sleep from so close a vantage point.

When Daniel started to shift and mutter like he was waking up, Jack pulled gently away. Daniel came awake all at once and stared at him. “Did I cuddle up to you?” he asked, his words slurred slightly with the aftereffects of sleep.

“I don’t know who cuddled up to whom,” Jack said fairly. “I woke up this way.”

Daniel looked at where he was on the bed and evidently concluded from his position that he was the guilty party. He shook his head. “God, I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t – I mean, that wasn’t fair to –”

“Don’t sweat it, Daniel,” Jack said firmly. “Shit happens.”

“Yeah.” Daniel sat up. “Coffee?” he said hopefully.

“I think that can be arranged,” Jack said, sniffing the air. Quicker even than he was, Daniel scented the aroma of freshly made coffee and was out of the bedroom and into the main room of the suite before Jack could blink twice.

“I win,” Carter said as Jack emerged. “A minute, forty seconds.”

“You bet on how long it would take Daniel to smell the coffee?” Jack asked, amused.

“How long it would take him to come out of the bedroom,” Teal’c said. “Indeed, Major Carter, you have won.”

“I’ll get you two later,” Daniel growled, taking the cup of instant coffee from Carter, “when I’m conscious.”

“You can get boiling water from that spigot over there,” Carter said.

“Somehow I can’t face powdered eggs after last night’s dinner,” Jack replied dourly.

“I wasn’t suggesting . . . I just was explaining where I got the water for the coffee.”

Jack shook his head. “It was just a comment, Carter. I wonder when we can expect our hosts to show up this morning.”

“There’s no telling,” Daniel replied. “We know nothing about this planet’s culture or when they might consider it appropriate to disturb a guest.” He held out his empty cup and with a grin, Carter poured some more instant crystals into it. He filled it at the spigot and walked back, stirring. “In fact, they may wait for us to emerge.”

“Well, then, we’d better emerge if we want breakfast, then, hadn’t we?” Jack said, stretching. “Hey, do I get any of that?”

“Sure, sir,” Carter said, handing him a cup with instant coffee in it and a spoon. Jack pursed his lips. Daniel got service for his first cup. Of course, Daniel was a bear until he got his coffee, so maybe that was simple self defense.

Jack walked over to the spigot and got his water. “So, any thoughts about last night?”

Carter leapt on the question instantly. “I’m fascinated by the notion that they’re producing food of that quality during an ice age. I’m curious what their power source is, and how they’re managing to grow that much food.”

“I’d like to know how big their population is,” Daniel said. “And is this the only city?”

“All good questions. Teal’c?”

“I found it interesting to note that Administrator Calder was the only one who spoke throughout much of the evening, and he seemed discomfited by it when one of his subordinates spoke out of turn.”

“Some cultures do have very firm hierarchies,” Daniel said slowly.

“That doesn’t tend to suggest a very free society,” Jack observed.

“Not necessarily . . .”

“Daniel, I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but it is suggestive, you have to admit.” Daniel shrugged his assent. “I’ve been out four or five times, to go call home, and there’s always been someone outside. Shall we?”

Daniel finished off his second cup of coffee, and they headed out of the room. Immediately on their exit, they were greeted by a young fellow Jack hadn’t seen before. Apparently the shift had changed. It seemed that the sleeveless tunic and necklace were some kind of uniform, because this kid was wearing much the same thing. Or maybe it was a fashion statement.

“I am instructed to bring you to Administrator Calder’s table for the morning meal,” the boy said, bowing low.

Daniel said something appropriate – Jack didn’t pay much attention – and they followed the young man. Breakfast just confirmed Jack’s opinion that this Calder guy was a pompous twerp. But pompous people were not automatically evil people, no matter how annoying they might be.

At the end of the meal, he stood up and rang a bell. The woman Fiona walked in and smiled at them thinly. “Please stay with your escort as you tour the city. It can be somewhat confusing for the uninitiated, and I wouldn’t like for any of you to get lost.”

“Thank you, Administrator,” Daniel said politely, and they exchanged a few other highly boring pleasantries and moved off on the tour. Jack and Teal’c hung back, watching and listening for problems and possible military applications while Carter and Daniel asked intelligent and relevant questions of their tour guide.

It appeared that this was, in fact, the only city on the planet, and it wasn’t enormous, no more than a million people. Daniel asked about genetic diversity and was told that they were careful to match gene scans before allowing breeding, to avoid too much shared genetics. Jack supposed it was a necessary precaution in a small, closed population, but it sounded a little too close to eugenics to make him happy. Only the fact that he saw plenty of diversity in skin, hair and eye color, body type, heights and general appearance reassured him that they probably weren’t attempting to breed some kind of perfect race.

They saw labs where chemical engineering took place, workshops where amazing things were done with metal, at least according to Carter, a few schools where the children looked well groomed and studious. If Jack hadn’t caught sight of a couple of boys playing some kind of puzzle game in the back of the room, he might have thought they were Stepford children. Unfortunately, the teacher caught them, too, and took the game away.

Daniel enjoyed the museums and the library required a half-hour. It would have been longer, but they assured him that they would let him come back. They even loaned him a book. Jack would have liked to have such a delighted look bestowed on him as Daniel turned on that book.

They headed back to the administration building then, and Jack reported in to General Hammond after a full day of being away from the gate. Then they went to dinner with Administrator Calder, who asked about their day. Like obedient children, Daniel and Carter babbled happily about what they’d seen and asked appropriate questions. After a while, Jack cleared his throat. “Do you have any military facilities? Any law enforcement?”

“We have no real need for either,” Calder said, his tone a clear disparagement of any who did. “I can have someone show you the museums dedicated to our former ways, before we found that survival outweighed all other motivations.”

“I’d like that,” Jack said dryly, and his tone wasn’t lost on the administrator. They smiled at one another with less than total sincerity.

“I’d like to spend some more time at the metallurgical facilities,” Carter said. “I was intrigued by some of the processes.”

Calder nodded condescendingly. “Of course, it will be arranged. And you, Dr. Jackson?”

Daniel pursed his lips. “I think I’d like to go with Colonel O’Neill,” he said consideringly.

Jack wondered what had prompted that, but he was just as glad. Teal’c could go watch metallurgy with Carter while he and Daniel looked around museums to violence. That would work.

“I will arrange things for you. Master Teal’c, have you a wish to see anything specific?”

“I shall accompany Major Carter,” he said solemnly.

“Very good,” Calder said. “Now, I have arranged a concert for this evening, if that meets with your approval.”

Jack felt his face freeze in an expression of bland acquiescence while Daniel expressed their pleasure at the invitation. They adjourned to another room, one with excellent acoustics and a small stage. Six people occupied the stage, one with a wind instrument something like a flute or a piccolo, two with percussion instruments, and the remaining three had various types of stringed instruments. He was braced for something evil and screechy, but it was actually quite pleasant, even if they used a different melodic structure than the one predominant in the United States. He couldn’t quite place it, but it was subtly different.

He hoped Carter or Daniel was taping it. He hadn’t thought to.

When they musicians were done, he started to clap, but caught Daniel eyeing the locals who began to applaud. Jack joined in with a slight grin. For once his instinct beat Daniel’s on something cultural. After the musicians had filed out, Jack turned to Calder. “Please convey my sincerest compliments to the musicians. That was excellent.”

“I will do so, Colonel O’Neill,” Calder said, nodding.

Daniel was gazing at him approvingly, and Jack was caught between basking in his approbation and irritation that Daniel had expected anything less from him.

“Well, I think it’s time we retired,” Jack said.

“Of course,” Calder said. “I will have one of the pages escort you to your rooms, and to the ring if you wish.”

“Please,” Jack said.

He took Carter again, and she rhapsodized for a while about the possibilities for learning she’d seen during the day, and her intentions of learning more. The general responded with pleased generalities and they signed off after explaining that they’d be away from the gate most of the next day as well. As time passed without problems, the contact schedule loosened, and Hammond would expect to hear from them less frequently.

They headed back to their suite and the young man who’d acted as their guide stopped outside. Daniel and Teal’c were sitting in the main room, having a spirited discussion about the positives and negatives of a strongly hierarchical society.

Teal’c tilted his head as they walked in. “DanielJackson, I have observed that you do not feel at ease with the culture of your own nation’s military, which has a very hierarchical structure.”

“I didn’t say I’d be comfortable with it,” Daniel said. “But such a society can work, even if it’s not as free as it could be.”

“But do you not think that such a hierarchy tends to stifle innovation?”

“It can,” Daniel agreed.

“Then it’s a very good thing that we don’t enforce it too strictly at the SGC,” Jack said, striding towards them. “Otherwise Carter here would be just about smothered, wouldn’t she?”

Daniel turned, raising his eyebrows. “No one with any sense would stifle Sam’s creativity.”

“There are a few people in the military with no sense,” Jack observed.

“There certainly are,” Carter said with feeling.

Jack turned to her. “You haven’t run afoul of any of that sort at the SGC, have you?”

“Once or twice,” she said. “But they don’t usually get put in charge of me, so it doesn’t make much difference.”

Jack blinked, but before he could ask who she meant, Daniel said, “Regardless, being hierarchical doesn’t automatically make a society bad or wrong.”

“Perhaps you are correct, DanielJackson.”

“Oh, come on, Teal’c, we both know Daniel’s always right.”

Teal’c raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile. “Indeed, O’Neill.”

“Of course,” Daniel said sarcastically, glaring at Jack. He turned back to Carter. “So, tomorrow you two are going to go off and look at the metal works more closely?”

“Right, Daniel,” she said.

“If you see anything interesting, any symbols or anything, make note, would you?”

“We will, DanielJackson,” Teal’c said.

“And we’ll get to see all sorts of military hardware and such,” Jack said, putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Looking forward to it?”

“The making of war is part of culture, Jack,” Daniel said. “And if they really have put it behind them, then maybe we have something to learn from them.”

“They have a closed population, Daniel,” Jack protested. “They don’t dare fight amongst themselves. It would be the end of them.”

“True,” Daniel replied, gazing at him thoughtfully. A mischievous glint lit his eyes. “But I didn’t expect you to see that.”

Carter made a sound that was something like a suppressed snort of laughter, and Teal’c’s eyes danced.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Well, we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow. I think it’s time for us all to retire.”

“I think I’ll try to puzzle out some of this book tonight,” Daniel said. “Good night, Jack.”

Knitting his brows, Jack considered protesting, but then he shrugged. “Good night, Daniel,” he said. “Don’t stay up too late.”

“Yes Mama,” Daniel said with a sarcastic grin.

Carter, already at the door to her room, ducked through it with a haste which suggested that she didn’t want to be seen laughing at her commanding officer. Teal’c followed at a more sedate pace. Jack gave Daniel a long look. “If you’re not in there in two hours, you know I’m going to come find you.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Yes, Jack,” he said. “And I can’t tell you how safe it makes me feel.’

Jack grimaced. “Good night, Daniel.” He went into the bedroom and stripped down to go to bed. He left the door open so that he could hear it if anything went wrong. He took a last look out the door and noticed that Teal’c had done the same. Daniel didn’t seem to have noticed, but Jack wouldn’t bet on that. Daniel noticed more than he seemed to sometimes.

Sighing, Jack got into bed and rolled onto his side. Sleep was a long time in coming as he listened to the pages turn in the other room.


	6. Chapter 6

After about an hour, Daniel set the book aside and rubbed his eyes. He was going to need some of his resources from home to figure this one out. He sat back on the sofa-equivalent and looked up at the ceiling. What was wrong with this place? Something here made him vastly uncomfortable, but he couldn’t place it, which was probably why he was being such an advocate when Teal’c mentioned the same kind of uneasiness.

There was so much to recommend this place, these people, that Daniel didn’t want to dismiss them based on some vague, almost instinctive dislike that might be caused by nothing more substantial than the fact that Calder was a condescending son of a bitch. Still, the feeling of wrongness persisted, and he didn’t know what was causing it.

If he said anything to Jack, especially right now, so soon after Euronda, Jack might put too much credence in what might be only a mental whim on Daniel’s part.

Meanwhile, here he was, sharing a bed with Jack, at Jack’s invitation, and that seemed monstrously unfair. He was also made uneasy by the fact that waking up in Jack’s arms, with his head pillowed on Jack’s shoulder, hadn’t felt all that odd. It didn’t make sense. He didn’t want a relationship with Jack, and that being the case, he couldn’t go around making things worse for Jack by cuddling up to him in the night.

It was probably just that Jack’s close proximity helped him to ignore the discomfort he felt in this place. That, too, was unfair. He wondered what Jack would do if he found him asleep out here.

That was the other trouble. If he refused to sleep in the same bed with Jack, he risked suggesting that he didn’t trust the other man, which was far from the truth. There was nothing he didn’t trust Jack with, nothing on earth.

He stood up and went into the bedroom where he found Jack lying on his back on the near side of the bed, eyes closed, one arm thrown up to cover them against the light Daniel had left on in the main room of the suite. Making a slight detour, Daniel switched off most of the lights, leaving one lamp on for security.

Then he returned to the bedroom and looked at Jack again. It was so odd to see him sleeping. Usually, he woke the moment someone entered the room, a legacy of years of military service in some pretty uneasy places. Daniel walked around to his side of the bed and started taking off his gear. Vowing that he would not cuddle up to Jack, he curled up on his side, facing away from his bed partner, and tried to still his mind for sleep.

* * *

Daniel blinked a couple of times, then squeezed his eyes shut before opening them. In front of his face there was just an expanse of green t-shirt, and he had an arm thrown across a slim waist. He’d done it again. He started to move away, but the arm around his shoulders squeezed him tightly, snuggling him close. He stopped trying to shift away and lay still, wishing he understood what was going on with him. Once again, he was lying with his head on Jack’s shoulder, one of Jack’s arms around him, one of his arms around Jack, and it felt completely natural. Jack’s breathing was slow and regular, and Daniel wondered how long it would take him to wake up.

After a while, Jack shifted slightly, squeezing as he stretched, then relaxing. “Mmmm,” he said. “Good morning, Daniel.”

Now that Jack was awake, Daniel tried again to move away, and Jack didn’t try to stop him. “God, Jack, I’m sorry. I don’t . . . I didn’t . . .”

“Daniel, you were asleep, I was asleep, rational people don’t hold their friends responsible for what happens when they’re asleep.”

“Right,” Daniel said. “Well, you take the first shower. Like you said, we’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

“You sure you don’t want to shower first?” Jack asked, and Daniel shook his head. “I guess that makes sense. He stood up and stretched, pulling his t-shirt off. “Age before beauty and all that.” Before Daniel could do more than gape at him, he had disappeared into the bathroom .

Daniel shook his head. It had been a feeble witticism, that’s all. Jack hadn’t meant anything by it. He couldn’t have. He stretched out on the bed and tried to analyze his reactions. Why did it feel so right to be snuggled up to Jack?

He was closer to Jack than he’d been to anyone in his life with the exception of Sha’re. Never before Sha’re had he missed the feeling of cuddling, a person couldn’t miss what they didn’t know. Snuggling with Sha’re had brought up atavistic memories of being cuddled by his mother, but he’d spent most of his childhood pretty much alone. Maybe it was just that he missed sharing a bed with someone he loved, the warmth of holding one another in the night and of burrowing in together in the morning, resisting the call of dawn.

It wasn’t fair, though, for him to take advantage of Jack’s nearness to have that again, not when he knew how Jack felt and that he didn’t share those feelings.

“So, what are you stewing about?” Jack asked. “I sure do like those washing things they have for clothes. Toss them in, and your clothes are ready and de-stinked before you’re out of the shower.”

“Those are nice,” Daniel said, getting up and walking towards the bathroom. “I’ll be just a –”

Jack caught his arm. “Is something wrong, Daniel?”

“No, I just –” Daniel shook his head. “I feel like a heel. It’s not fair for me to . . . when you . . . look, I need to shower.”

“I thought that might be it,” Jack said. He put his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. “Look, Dannyboy, I suggested this, and I don’t mind. You’re probably worried that it’s making things harder for me somehow.” Daniel nodded, acutely troubled. “Let me assure that it’s not.” He squeezed Daniel’s shoulders and let go. “It’s actually kind of nice. I sometimes miss the closeness of sharing a bed with someone I care about.”

Daniel gazed at him for several seconds, trying to see if he was pouring on the patented O’Neill bullshit, but he didn’t see any signs of it. He shrugged. “Okay. I can’t pretend I haven’t missed that kind of closeness, but under the circumstances it sort of feels like I’m taking advantage.”

“Well, you’re not. Now, go rinse off that stink.” Jack gave him a gentle shove towards the bathroom and Daniel went.

* * *

Daniel found the war museums fascinating, and he could tell that Jack did as well. They walked from room to room with a docent named Aileen, going backwards through time. It wasn’t the direction Daniel would have chosen, but he didn’t object. Seeing these people’s history the way they thought of it was part of learning about their culture.

After they’d gone through six or so rooms, Aileen stopped at a doorway. “This is the oldest of all our exhibits. It goes back to a time when we had kings who deified themselves.” Daniel glanced at Jack, who was raising his eyebrows. The docent looked pleased at their apparent interest. “In ancient times, the kings Apophis and Heru-ur fought a great battle on the plains to the north that are now covered with ice. Eventually, Heru-ur defeated Apophis and drove him from our lands, and there followed eons of tyranny from him and all his descendants.”

“I see,” Daniel said. “What happened then?”

“Well, that has been debated hotly in our scholarly circles, but now that we know that the ring is in fact a transportation device, it seems very likely that the oldest stories are true. That era’s Heru-ur, taking a select few of his nearest followers, left our planet sixteen centuries ago, never to return. The tales tell us of a magic stone that was mined here for millennia, but when the mines played out, Heru-ur left in search of more of the stone. Of course, we know that magic is a myth, but perhaps there was some kind of powerful mineral that we know nothing of that was abundant on this planet until it was all taken by this last Heru-ur.”

“Naquadah,” Jack said, nodding to Daniel.

The effect on Aileen was nothing short of electric. “Naquadah?” she exclaimed. “That is the name used in the most ancient texts for the magic stone. Is it real?”

Daniel nodded. “It is. It’s very likely that your most ancient stories are true, in the main. Many planets were settled for the sole purpose of extracting naquadah from their soil, then abandoned with the populations that were brought there when the naquadah was all gone.”

Her eyes were wide, and she seemed barely able to speak. “Please, come in and see what the last Heru-ur left behind.”

They followed her, and Daniel glanced at Jack, wondering when they should tell them that Heru-ur was not a hereditary name for their kings, but a Goa’uld who was still alive and out there somewhere. Jack seemed to read his question in his face and shrugged very slightly. They walked into a room that was full of Goa’uld weapons and torture devices.

“The devices that powered these objects were removed in ancient times,” Aileen said. “Now, we have no idea how they worked. Perhaps you know?”

Daniel’s eye came to rest on a staff weapon. “We might,” he said. “This is fascinating.” She beamed at him. “Do you mind if we wander back through the museum more slowly on our own?”

“No, of course not,” she said. “Send one of the pages for me if you have any questions.”

Daniel nodded. Two young men had been assigned to them, and a young woman and a young man to Teal’c and Sam. They didn’t seem much like guards, more like attendants, but Calder had asked them to stay with their escorts so as not to become lost in the city.

Aileen left, and they wandered through the room, looking at devices whose uses they had direct experience of. “Sixteen centuries,” Jack muttered. “That’s a long time.”

“They’ve made a lot of progress,” Daniel replied.

“Why did you want to go back through the museum?” Jack asked.

“A couple of reasons,” Daniel said. “I wanted to look at a few things to see if I’m reading them right.”

Jack shrugged and they made their way forward in time, the pages nearby but not encroaching on them in any way. Daniel finally came to a stop before the most recent of the exhibits, about a war that took place about fifty years before the true effects of the encroaching ice age became impossible to ignore.

“Look here, Jack,” he said. “Throughout the history of this place, the prisoners taken in war become the slaves of those who took them prisoner. Even in the last three hundred and fifty years.”

“America had slaves within the last three hundred and fifty years,” Jack pointed out logically. “Hell, within the last hundred and fifty years.”

“I know,” Daniel said. “But that’s an unusual situation, not replicated anywhere in our history. A truly shameful chapter, but not really relevant to what I’m talking about. The practice of turning captured prisoners of war into slaves hasn’t been practiced institutionally for a long time. By isolated tribes, perhaps, but not by nations. This . . .” He gestured. “It’s clear that slavery is an institution with a long past here, probably a holdover from the Goa’uld.”

“Probably, but what’s your point?”

“Well, have you seen any signs of slavery now?” Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged. “No war, no prisoners of war, no slaves. Seems pretty logical.”

“So, do you think they’d return to the practice if they had another war?”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he seemed to grasp Daniel’s point suddenly. “That’s a very good question,” he said. “And come to think of it, I haven’t seen anything regarding law enforcement.” He turned to the page beside him. “Can you ask Aileen to come back?”

The boy nodded and strode off, and Daniel looked back at the pictures and weaponry inside the case. “I’m not sure whether this is really an issue or not, Jack, I just thought I should say something.”

“I’m not sure, either,” Jack replied. “But it’s better to have it in mind than to ignore it.”

Aileen returned and Jack put the question to her. She smiled and explained that the law enforcement museum was separate, and they would see it after lunch. “We’ve arranged for you to eat at a nearby restaurant with your friends, if that’s agreeable to you?”

Daniel smiled. “That sounds great,” he said.

Within twenty minutes, they were seated at a comfortable table in a restaurant that resembled an outdoor café. There were trees and flowering bushes, and Daniel kept his hankie handy, but nothing seemed to trigger his allergies. Sam and Teal’c showed up after a few more minutes and sat down.

“So, have you two seen anything exciting?” Jack asked.

Sam nodded eagerly. “Their metallurgy is very advanced, and I’m supposed to get to see some of the chemical laboratories after lunch. They have some interesting things to offer.”

“I’d like to have a written report this evening, then, to send to General Hammond.”

She nodded. “No problem, sir.”

“What have you learned about their history of war?” Teal’c asked.

“The last war they fought was just over four hundred years ago,” Daniel said. “And this planet was fought over by Apophis and Heru-ur more than a thousand years ago.”

“Indeed?” Teal’c asked. “Why did they leave, then?”

“The naquadah deposits were exhausted,” Jack replied. “So, they’ve got you covered for this afternoon?”

“Yes sir,” Sam said, and then she started to talk about what she’d learned about their metallurgy. Daniel was fascinated, but though he tried to follow what she said, he had difficulty grasping it all.

When they were done with lunch, they went their separate ways, and the law enforcement museum confirmed Daniel’s uncertainty. It was clear that they’d used their criminals for menial labor, but again, Jack pointed out that American prisons had done much the same thing.

“True,” Daniel said. “And there’s no evidence that they didn’t release them after a term, or that they used them for overly dangerous tasks.”

“And it’s in the past,” Jack pointed out. “We can’t judge a people based on the actions of their ancestors.”

“Again, true,” Daniel said, but he found himself uncertain. Still, he couldn’t put his finger on why. They went back to their rooms and both he and Sam put together written reports to send back to Earth, and Daniel sent the book back to have a copy made so he could puzzle it out at his leisure.

They had dinner in their room and discussed what they’d seen. Daniel could tell that Teal’c was made uneasy by the history he and Jack related, but as Jack said, judging people by the actions of long dead ancestors made no sense.

Jack and Daniel went to bed on separate sides of the bed, yet once again, Daniel woke up snuggled up to Jack’s side. Jack seemed pleased enough by the situation, and Daniel sighed. He gave Jack a quick squeeze around the ribs, then got up and went into the bathroom.

Their medical facilities were slated for today, and they proved to be relatively close to on par with them as far as medicine went. They had a little more skill in dealing with injuries due to cold, but beyond that they were roughly equal.

That evening, Jack asked Calder what he wanted from them. The answer was predictable. Gate technology, gate addresses, new vegetables and fruits that they hadn’t been able to grow, an exchange of culture, music, literature, art.

They passed that on to Hammond in their evening contact before going to bed. It seemed little enough to give in return for incredible advances in metallurgy and chemistry, not to mention hydroponics. Sam was quietly bubbling with excitement, and Daniel sympathized. He just found himself uncertain. This culture had much to recommend it, but there were questions beneath the surface, lingering. The issues with Euronda had been plain to Daniel if to no one else, but here, where all seemed fairly open and above board, both he and Teal’c sensed something wrong.

There was nothing definite, though, and Daniel didn’t want to say anything until he had something to base his objections on.

Once they were back in their suite, Jack looked at him. “Something’s bothering you, Daniel. What is it?”

Daniel grimaced. “That’s the problem, Jack, I don’t know exactly. I just feel like there’s something not quite right, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

“I have a similar feeling, O’Neill,” Teal’c said.

“Well, I can tell you one thing that seems a little odd,” Sam said, and they all turned to her. “Not once have they shown us anything that remotely resembled a power source for this amazing city. I’ve asked, but the subject always gets changed. I thought at first that they might have solar power, but they didn’t seem to understand the concept when I asked about it.”

“Really?” Daniel blinked.

Sam nodded. “I’m very curious how they’re managing it. It could be fairly straightforward, but it’s hard to say. Most of what we could do would poison the environment badly, and I’m hoping they’ve come up with something that avoids that problem.”

“That would be worth looking into,” Jack said. “But maybe they’ll tell us in good time.”

“Or maybe there’s a reason they don’t want us to know,” Daniel suggested.

Jack nodded thoughtfully. “Well, let’s hit the sack. One more day of tours while Hammond sees what the mucky-mucks think.”

* * *

Teal’c aroused himself from kelnoreem when he heard Major Carter begin moving around the room. He offered her first chance at the bathing chamber which she took with alacrity. He emerged to find that she had left the bed chamber. Going out into the main room of the suite, he found her standing in the doorway to the room in which DanielJackson and O’Neill were sleeping.

She appeared to be stunned, so he walked over to see what was wrong. He could see nothing amiss. O’Neill lay on his back with DanielJackson close beside him on his left side, his head on O’Neill’s chest. With his left arm, O’Neill cradled him close, and DanielJackson had thrown his left arm over his companion’s waist. O’Neill’s right hand rested on the younger man’s arm.

Teal’c looked down at Major Carter’s face. She was staring at the two men in apparent shock, so he reached in and very gently removed the door handle from her hand and pulled the door shut. She stepped backwards in surprise and bumped into him. After a moment of awkward movement, they wound up facing each other. “Is something wrong, Major Carter?”

“Did you see them?” she asked in a whisper.

“I did,” he said in a low voice. “They seemed most affectionate.”

“And that doesn’t strike you as odd?” she asked.

He led her away from the door so that they would be less likely to awaken DanielJackson and O’Neill and cause them embarrassment. “It does not. They are close friends and have often shared warmth together. You have seen them do so in the past, but did not comment then.”

She gave him a perplexed look. Shaking her head very slightly, she said, “Yeah, but, Teal’c, it’s not cold.” She pointed towards the door. “And that isn’t spooning for warmth.”

“Do you believe that they are doing anything inappropriate, Major Carter?” he asked. He knew full well that she did not, but he had discovered that his human friends sometimes found it necessary to speak a truth themselves before they could fully accept it.

“Well, no!” She bit her lip. “But you do know . . . I mean, you’ve been on Earth for a while now . . . I don’t know how it is among Jaffa, but . . .” She broke off, shaking her head.

“I have often seen fellow Jaffa in such companionable positions,” he said calmly. “It is not at all uncommon for soldiers to seek the comfort of other soldiers in times when they are far from their wives and family.”

Major Carter blinked at him. She turned and looked at the door, and then turned slowly back to him. “You don’t mean what I think you mean, do you?”

He raised an eyebrow, mildly baffled by her choice of phrasing. “I do not know what you think I mean, Major Carter. Please be more explicit.”

She turned a startling shade of pink and began to stammer. “I don’t . . . I mean . . . you couldn’t . . . what . . . crap!”

He blinked. “Major Carter, I do not understand what is causing you such distress.” He had not expected this to cause her such dismay, but she didn’t seem to disapprove on principle. She seemed more worried that a relationship might cause difficulties for them in the future. “They are very close. You were aware of this, surely.”

“How close?” she asked in a strangled voice.

He glanced at the door. “If they have not moved, you could not slip a _daluf_ between them.”

She stared at him, eyes wide. “Was that a joke?” she demanded.

Tilting his head, he raised his eyebrow again. “If you cannot tell, I shall not –”

“Teal’c!” she exclaimed. “I just –” She shook her head. “Don’t you realize how that would look to anyone else?”

“It would look as if they were being affectionate,” he said.

“Men aren’t affectionate in that way in our culture, Teal’c,” she replied.

He knew this, but he also found it both foolish and inexplicable. “I have noticed that, among your soldiers at least, men are expected to be quite stoic.”

“This from the man who is practically the definition of stoic.”

He sighed. “Among my people, I am considered to be reserved, and even were I not, I am not among my people.”

“I didn’t mean –” she began in what was clearly going to be an apology that would be very embarrassing to them both.

“I do not take offense, Major Carter,” he said to forestall her. She subsided, and he went on. “Your culture does not require that your men be reserved, but that they be stoic regarding their affectionate emotions towards others. I have noted that women in the military seem to be a good deal more stoic emotionally than civilian women, but nevertheless, you may show affection for each other.”

Major Carter knit her brows together. “Our culture just doesn’t permit men to show affection for each other openly. I’m not saying it’s a good thing, but it is a fact.”

“This is not an open display of affection, Major Carter,” he said, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “If you had not opened the door as you did, you would not have seen it.”

“It doesn’t have to be in public, Teal’c. They don’t show it openly in front of each other, even when they’re alone.”

He considered this, then he looked at her quizzically. “How would you know if they did or did not? You would not be there.”

The door opened and DanielJackson emerged. “Jack’s still in the shower. Are we out of coffee?”

Major Carter shook her head and hurried over to her pack. “What, me run out of coffee with you along?” she asked. “I’d make a special trip to the gate if that was the case.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

Teal’c gazed at DanielJackson. He did not believe that the young scholar had accepted O’Neill’s love, but there was something passing between them that was beneficial to them both. It gave him great pleasure to see it. They had both of them lost much in this struggle. It would be good for them to gain something more in each other.


	7. Chapter 7

On the fourth day they walked around the city on a more general tour, looking at shops and the like.   While the mucky-mucks on Earth were considering the proposals, Hammond wanted them to get a feel for the culture of the place. Some of the unease Teal’c and Daniel were feeling had to be catching, because Jack was feeling uncertain. Though Calder had made it clear that they were interested in gate technologies and addresses, which made a lot of sense, he seemed a little less enthusiastic than Jack would have expected.

Their guide, a young fellow named Thomen, led them from marketplace to marketplace, and they saw many fine things. Sculptures, paintings, beautifully woven rugs. Most of the fabric was man-made, they probably had to save their arable land for foodstuffs. Daniel was looking at all of it avidly, and there were no signs of his misgivings at the moment.

Jack was surprised to see cats and dogs given the tightness of the population as he understood it, but he supposed that rats and other vermin would have continued to be a problem, and it would really suck to be in a world without animals at the end of the ice age. He squatted to pet a little brown mongrel while Daniel and Carter were looking over the wares of some kind of rug merchant.

“I’d love to have this on my living room floor,” Sam said quietly to Daniel as she fingered a lovely confection of a rug in pinks, greens and blues.

“It’s nice,” Daniel said, nodding. “It would look good. Too bad we don’t have the local equivalent of money.”

They moved into the food markets where familiar vegetables rubbed shoulders with the strange. Part of their route led them through residential areas, which gave them a look at the way people spent their days when not working. Daniel could probably write a paper on them, but Jack was just content watching them. He’d ask Daniel for his observations later.

As they crossed an open area, Carter jogged up to the front of the group. “Thomen, what are those?” she asked, pointing across to some odd openings in the ground just inside the dome. They were covered by some kind of grillwork, and Jack thought he saw an access panel.

Thomen looked over thoughtfully. “I’m not sure what you mean, ma’am,” he said.

“Those grills, what do they cover? They look like some kind of ventilation shaft.”

“I believe those are decoration,” he said, blinking in a way that made Jack immediately suspicious. “Please, this way to the botanical gardens.”

They followed obediently, but Carter gave Jack a puzzled look. That ‘decoration’ needed a closer look. Jack would have to come up with something. The botanical gardens were a paradise of flowers and flowering trees. It resembled something that might be found outside a British country house. Very quickly, Thomen set them free to wander by themselves, but Carter stayed near him, asking questions. Daniel was next to Jack, looking at some kind of purple flower and saying something about medieval ballads, and Teal’c was near Carter about twenty feet off.

Jack stared at Teal’c for a second, and the Jaffa turned to see him looking. He gestured with his eyes towards the grillwork they’d seen, glanced at Daniel and gave a quick nod. Teal’c nodded slowly and glanced toward Carter. The message passed, Jack took Daniel’s arm and eased him towards the edge of the garden, pointing at something that looked like a daisy to get him moving without a fuss.

When they got to the edge, Daniel seemed to get the point without being told. Their guide had completely missed their defection, and the pair of young men who were their ‘pages’ were still on the other end of the garden, it apparently not having occurred to any of them that there were no walls, merely low hedges to define the boundaries. They stepped over the hedges and made their way swiftly to the grills.

Daniel kept watch while Jack bent to what looked to him like an access panel. He expected to have to contend with a lock or some such, but it appeared only to have a latch. That made him think twice. In his experience, nothing secret was merely latched, but they were committed. He could apologize later if it was nothing of import.

He opened the panel and found a narrow ladder inside, probably meant for some kind of maintenance crew. He looked up at Daniel, who nodded, and Jack eased himself into the narrow opening. As soon as he was well inside, Daniel followed, closing the access panel above him, but fiddling with the latch to make sure they could exit by same route.

At the bottom of the ladder there was a narrow passageway that led long below one of the grills, and they could feel air moving past them in a downward direction. Daniel looked at Jack. “There must be fans or something down there to keep this moving.”

“I’m sure,” Jack said, matching Daniel’s soft tone. “Looks like there’s another ladder at the end here.”

They headed down several levels, past various types of machinery. Jack wished they had Carter along, but she was also the best person to keep Thomen occupied in the gardens. The noise grew as they went lower, and soon they saw the fans. This was obviously some kind of service shaft for the machinery they were passing.

Below the fans there was a catwalk, and much father below Jack could see people moving about. He dropped to his knees and narrowed his profile as much as possible. Daniel was still behind him, unable to see the people far below. Using his chin, he gestured for Daniel to follow his example. When the archeologist was close beside him, peering down through the machinery and gloom, he caught his breath in shocked horror.

Directly below them, people were shoveling ore of some variety into something that looked like a furnace. Further off, there was something that looked like a boiler being maintained by more people. Some of them bore signs of recent injury, bandaged with dirty cloths. Their clothes were ragged and filthy, and none of them looked up at all. They just kept working, focused on their tasks.

While they watched, a whistle blew and they all knocked off work, joining a line for food. Jack was immediately reminded that it was close to lunchtime and therefore a time when they might be missed. He poked Daniel, who jumped in surprise, then turned an appalled look at him. Jack shook his head when he opened his mouth to speak, pointed to his right wrist and then towards the surface. Daniel’s eyes grew unreadable, and he nodded sharply once. They went upwards slowly and carefully, so as not to draw attention. When they were in the final passageway, Jack caught Daniel’s shoulder and squeezed past him so that he was going up first. If there was some flack to be caught, he wanted to the one to catch it.

Opening the access panel a crack, he peered out and saw no running or stationary feet. Maybe their luck had held. They climbed out, closed the panel and returned to the gardens, entering by the same route.

Daniel grabbed his arm and dragged him into what looked kind of like a grotto. “It wouldn’t surprise them not to have noticed us here,” he said. “Did you see that food?”

Jack blinked. “What food?”

“The food they were feeding those people down there. It was some kind of slop, with unleavened bread.”

“Charming,” Jack said.

“Compared with what the people up here are eating, it’s particularly revolting.”

Jack shook his head trying to absorb what he’d just seen. “Did that look to you like it looked to me?” he asked.

“If it looked like slavery to you, then yes, it did.” Daniel sounded absolutely furious. “I guess they haven’t given up old practices. What do you want to bet those are ‘criminals’?”

“If they’re criminals – ” Jack started, but Daniel shook his head.

“They at least deserve decent food and medical treatment, agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“And we need to know a lot more about the way that works before we make any agreements with the government here.”

“Again, agreed,” Jack said. Hammond wasn’t going to like this, and he had serious doubts about how much importance the Joint Chiefs would place on the situation. Still, he had some discretion. He’d have to find out what Administrator Calder had to say about this practice.

“Colonel O’Neill!” It was the voice of Thomen.

Jack looked at Daniel, who took a deep breath and cleared the anger off his face. Nodding, Jack stepped out of the grotto, Daniel close behind him. “Were you looking for me?” he asked as Thomen approached.

“It is time for lunch, sir,” Thomen said. “If you will follow me?”

They had lunch in another ‘outdoor’ restaurant, this one in the middle of the gardens. Jack leaned towards Carter and told her what they’d seen very quietly. Daniel did the same with Teal’c. Carter blinked and glanced at Teal’c when they’d both heard it all. Speaking in a low tone, she said, “That sounds like a power plant.”

“That’s what it looked like to me,” Jack said. “I’m going to take Daniel and have a little conversation with Administrator Calder. You see what you can find out on the rest of this tour.”

Teal’c and Carter both nodded, and Daniel pursed his lips unhappily. Jack knew just how he felt. He didn’t like being right about something like this. When Thomen returned, he seemed confused by the request, but he simply had their pages take them back to the administration building. After a bit of discussion with underlings, Jack and Daniel finally walked into Calder’s office where he had a bowl of cut up fruit sitting on the desk and was eating. He always seemed to have fruit of some kind on his desk. Jack heard Daniel’s sharp intake of breath and touched his arm to keep him from speaking. Daniel took a deep breath and nodded, standing by the door with his arms crossed in that self-hugging gesture that always made him look so anxious.

Jack walked over to the window out onto the city. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Calder said from behind him.

He turned and gazed at the self-important city leader who sat behind his half-circle desk with his bowl of fresh fruit while people in that place below ate slop with dry bread. “Very impressive,” he said. “Too bad it’s a lie.”

Calder knit his brows. “I don’t understand.”

“While we were on the grand tour, Carter spotted some ventilation shafts coming out of apparently nowhere. We checked it out.”

Calder’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You were supposed to stay with your escort.” He wiped the juices from his fruit off his hands.

Jack nodded. “I can see how you wouldn’t want outsiders to know about the slave labor force you keep underground,” he said.

Calder seemed mildly taken aback by this remark, but he rallied quickly. With a shrug, he said, “They’re merely workers.”

Daniel was seething, staring at the bowl of fruit. The man had just tacitly admitted that the people who worked that furnace and boiler set up were slaves. Jack ignored him and kept his focus on Calder. “And what made them so worthy of that?” he asked.

“Colonel . . .” Calder said, his voice oozing condescension, clearly preparing to give him some kind of bullshit answer.

Jack walked forward, all the way up to the desk. “Administrator,” he said, “I will not recommend trade with a culture that enslaves its own people, I don’t care what technology you have.”

Calder leaned towards him, smarming him for all he was worth. “This system of government has allowed our culture to survive an ice age.”

“Tell me,” Jack said, leaning closer, almost whispering. “What’s the secret? Starvation? Torture? What?”

Calder seemed to feel Jack was too close. He leaned back in his chair, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes as he spoke, though his tone was as calm and patronizing as ever. “Our methods are actually quite civilized.”

“Really?” Jack asked sarcastically.

“Yes,” Calder said with a smirk. An odd light came into his eyes. “In fact . . . I’ll show you.”

“I’d be fascinated,” Jack replied.

Calder’s smirk broadened. “I’m certain you would.” He put his hand down on the desk. “I’m sure all four of you would find it quite interesting.”

“Sounds great,” Jack said, glancing back at Daniel, who had taken a few steps closer and was watching Calder with disgust. “Before we do that, I’m going to have to make a report to my superiors,” Jack added.

Calder raised an eyebrow, and Jack heard the door open behind him. He turned to see what was happening and saw two men enter. They were dressed all in red, clearly some form of uniform, policemen or soldiers, people Calder had said they didn’t have. Daniel had turned a shade slower than Jack had, and the two soldiers seized him before he could even grab for his sidearm. He drove his elbow into the gut of the one on his right, causing the man to double over, then threw a punch at the one on his left, who tried to grab his arm, but Daniel dodged and threw another punch that connected with the man’s cheek. Jack raised his gun, but Daniel’s movements blocked Jack’s shot. He didn’t dare fire. He turned to find Calder, hoping that he could intimidate the man, but he’d disappeared.

“Son of a –” Jack whirled at Daniel’s growled invective. The guy Daniel had elbowed in the gut now held the muzzle of his weapon at the archeologist’s head. Daniel froze, his hands fisted, his breath coming hard and fast.

“Lower your weapon, colonel,” said one of the men. Slowly, Jack did as they said, Daniel’s eyes upbraiding him for caving. “Disarm yourself.” Jack tossed the guns aside. Escape would have to come later.

“I don’t think you’ll be making any reports,” Calder said, walking around in front of him, keeping well back so that he couldn’t be taken hostage. Jack glared at him, and Calder seemed almost to preen at the attention. More guards came in, moving towards Jack. Turning towards them, Calder said, “Make arrangements to have their friends picked up.”

Jack grabbed his radio. “Carter, Teal’c, get back to the gate pronto! Hostile territo–!” Two men grabbed him, effectively ending his communication. He lashed out at the one on his left with a vicious punch to the throat. As that fellow fell, Jack turned and administered a roundhouse punch to his friend. The one on the ground scissored his legs, sweeping Jack’s feet out from under him. Jack landed with a thump on his back, knocking the air out of him. The one he’d punched in the throat rolled on top of him and delivered a stunning blow to his face. His companion anchored his legs and a third man came up and started removing his gear.

Calder watched all of this from the sidelines.

“No!” Daniel shouted from somewhere out of sight. Jack craned his neck to see what was happening and saw them dragging the archeologist out of the room. “Let go!”

“Where are you taking him?” Jack demanded angrily.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Calder said. “Take him away.”

“Damnit!” Jack growled as they dragged him to his feet, binding his wrists behind him. “This won’t gain you anything. My people won’t trade with you after this!”

Calder didn’t respond. The guards dragged him to a small room with plain blue walls, threw him in and shut the door behind him. He turned immediately and went to the door, but there wasn’t so much as a window in it’s surface.

“Daniel!” he called, then pressed his ear to the door to see if he could hear anything. No sound reached his ears.

What story was Calder going to feed Hammond? Jack kicked the door, and then turned his attention to searching the room for anything that might be helpful in effecting an escape.


	8. Chapter 8

According to his watch, Daniel had spent twelve hours in the little blue room when someone finally came and pulled him out. The watch was the only gear they hadn’t taken. They’d even taken his shoes and his glasses, which left him feeling particularly vulnerable when two of those soldier types came and took him out of his cell.

They each grabbed an arm and walked him along the hallway at a swift pace.

“Where’s Jack?” he asked. They didn’t say anything. “What’s happened to my friends?” They acted as if he hadn’t spoken. “Does either of you have a name?” More silence. “I’m Daniel, and I could walk faster if I had shoes on.” As they approached the end of the hall, a door opened on the right. Daniel gulped apprehensively. “So, what’s in there?”

They didn’t say anything, just kept him moving forward, through the door. It appeared to be some kind of medical facility, but the examination bed was currently vertical, and it had straps to hold the patient down. Daniel really didn’t like the look of that. He pulled back, but the guards had no intention of letting his reactions alter their plans. They forced him forward, turned him around and strapped him to the bed. After tilting it so that it was flat, they stepped back away from him, leaving him in that position.

As soon as he was restrained, a doctor came in. “Hi,” Daniel said. “My name’s Daniel.” The woman ignored his words and began looking at his face, using vaguely familiar instruments to examine his eyes and ears, inside his nose. “You know, I’m a person, not a slab of meat.” She pulled his mouth open and looked at his teeth, then at his throat. Daniel reminded himself that biting her would not make friends, and might get him gagged, which would put an end to the whole attempting to get her to see him as a person gig.

She moved down his neck to check on his glands, and Daniel began to grow a little impatient. “My friends, have you seen them? Jack’s an older guy, kind of mouthy. Sam’s a nice blond woman, very smart and kind of sweet. Then there’s Teal’c, you couldn’t forget Teal’c if you saw him. Quite memorable.”

She turned away from the table and picked something up. Lifting it over him, she screwed some kind of ampoule onto what looked like a syringe. “What’s that?” he asked. “What are you doing?” She bent and jabbed it into the muscle of his upper arm. “What are you doing to me? What is that?” The world grew even more blurry. “What are . . . you . . .” His mind grew fuzzy and he thumped his head back against the exam table. “Damn!” he murmured as he sank into oblivion.

* * *

Brenna entered Administrator Calder’s office with some measure of apprehension. Other than the usual reports, she had only been summoned to the administrator’s office once or twice in the past, and it had never been for anything good.

The administrator was sitting at his desk, eating plums. Her mouth watered. It had been years since she’d eaten anything that fresh, but she shoved that thought from her mind with stern discipline. It wasn’t her place to eat such things. She was only a worker, lucky enough to have been singled out for a higher post, but still only a worker.

She walked in and stood the prescribed distance away from his desk so as to offer him the respect due to his rank. He smiled benevolently at her, and some of her apprehension eased.

“Brenna, I have some new workers for you,” he said, and she blinked with surprise. They rarely got new workers, occasional transfers from the mines, but new . . . and why would he be telling her directly rather than sending the information through normal channels?

“Yes, administrator?” she said.

“These are unusual,” he said. “You have heard of the outsiders who came to trade with us?” She nodded. “They have presumed to disapprove of the way we run our society, and as such, have been condemned.   They will need to be stamped, but you must know what they are so that you can be prepared for possible problems.” He placed a stack of files carefully on the edge of his desk and then nodded. She walked forward and took the files.

“Outsiders?” she asked, looking up at him in surprise. “Will not their people come looking for them?”

“Perhaps,” the administrator said with a hint of impatience, “but they will not know where to look, and we will see that they are not found.” She nodded, feeling chastened and more than a little appalled that she had dared to question the administrator’s judgment. “This will take a firm hand, Brenna. You were chosen for your post because you are intelligent and strong of will. You will need both those qualities to stay on top of this situation. I do not want things getting out of hand.”

“Of course, administrator,” Brenna said. “I will see to it that they are kept under control.”

“But don’t make it obvious,” he said immediately. “Do not set them apart from the others in any way.”

“Of course not, administrator,” she said. Looking down at the files, she glanced at the names. “I thought that there were four outsiders.”

“There are. One of them will be serving in a different capacity.”

She nodded dumbly. If it had been anyone but the administrator, she would have described his expression as malicious pleasure.

“Take those files and review them,” Administrator Calder said. “Then let me know when you’re ready to stamp them. I feel certain you will be able to determine the appropriate personalities for each of them.” She nodded and started to leave. “Oh, and Brenna?” She stopped, waiting. “One of them, Teal’c, is an alien. If you have too much trouble with him, you may kill him.”

Her eyes widened and she bowed. “Yes, administrator.” She left and returned to her office, mind whirling with uncertainty. Kill him? He couldn’t mean it. And why had the administrator take such a personal interest in this case?

Opening the files, she read through them. Her heart was troubled. Never before had she felt so uneasy about an order given to her by an administrator. She was pleased that he had such confidence in her, but this seemed wrong somehow. It was one thing to take their own criminals and make them workers, but these were people from the outside.

She shook her head and banished those thoughts from her mind. Administrator Calder knew what was best for the city. She was a worker, it was not her place to question his decisions.

* * *

When Daniel woke up, his head felt surprisingly clear. Sedatives, the kind Janet used at any rate, always left him feeling muzzy and weird. He opened his eyes and the light stabbed at them, and he squeezed them shut with a muffled curse. Taking a deep breath, he opened them to a squint and sat up slowly. His head only hurt when he moved it too quickly or opened his eyes too wide, so he’d have to avoid doing either.

He was not back in the blue room, as he’d half-expected, nor was he still in that medical examination room. The walls were a pleasant pale green in shade, and there was a small window opposite the bed. The simple light fixture overhead was flush to the ceiling, nothing to break off and use as a weapon. As the headache dimmed a bit, Daniel looked around a little more closely at his surroundings. The room was small. He lay on a narrow bed that was fairly comfortable. His clothes . . . that was the first shock . . . he wasn’t wearing any.

The bed had no sheets, and there was nothing in the room he could use to cover himself. He stood up nervously and walked over to the window. He appeared to be fairly high up in the administration building. He had a great view of the city from here, but that really seemed highly unimportant. Where were Jack and Sam and Teal’c? Were they in small rooms somewhere naked? What was happening? When was rescue coming?

A sound behind him made him tense, and he turned around, exchanging the vulnerability of facing his captors nude for that of standing with his back to an unknown threat. The lesser of two evils and all that. One of those guards stood there, fully clothed. “Administrator Calder wishes to see you.”

“Can I have something to put on?” he asked.

“You’ll have to ask the administrator,” the guard said. “Come along.”

Faced with the choice of walking on his own two feet or being dragged along, Daniel opted for the most dignity possible in the situation. He followed the guard out of the room, and another guard took up a position behind him, like he was some kind of threat in his current condition.

Something struck him as they took him along the hallway. This didn’t resemble the public parts of the administration building, but he was almost certain that the angle of the view he’d seen from his window indicated that they were in that building. They passed a doorway into a kitchen where people were working, and Daniel flushed with humiliation. No one had turned to look, but it hadn’t occurred to him that anyone but the guards and Calder might see him like this.

They passed several other open rooms, living areas, and Daniel came to realize that he seemed to be in someone’s private quarters. Why he couldn’t begin to imagine. A young girl, probably twelve or so, turned a corner ahead of him carrying a stack of linens. She walked down the hall, passing right by him without looking at him or commenting on his nakedness. Daniel wanted to fall through the floor, but he wondered what the local taboos were concerning nudity within the home.

They took him to a room that resembled an office. No one was there, but it seemed to be their destination. They walked him to the other end of the room, away from the door. “Kneel here,” one of the guards said, pointing to a cushion that sat at the foot of a chair. Daniel blinked at him. “Do we need to bind you?” he asked.

Unwillingly, wondering what in the hell was going on, he sank down to his knees. The guards drew back to the door, which put them behind him. He looked around, then down at his knees, wondering what was coming next. The door opened and he turned his head again to see who was coming in.

Administrator Calder entered. It looked like he’d shed his tunic away from work, for he was wearing the same pants with a white shirt that had long, full sleeves that hung open at the wrist and a keyhole neckline. Daniel wondered what the significance of the off duty look might be. He started to get up, but when one of the guards moved forward, he sank down with a gulp.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

“They have been sent below,” Calder said, walking over and sitting down in the chair. Daniel was forced to look up at him to see his face as he continued to speak. He really didn’t like this submissive and exposed position. “To join the workers there. I am certain they will prove to be most productive.”

“Right,” Daniel said. Clearly Calder didn’t know Jack, Sam and Teal’c. They wouldn’t be there more than half a day before they’d overthrown whatever security was down there. Then they’d find him, and they’d all go home. His mind avoided the question of why they were down there while he was up here.

“I gather from the pages that were assigned to you that you learned much from your visits to our museums. You know that we reward criminals and subversives with perpetual servitude.” Daniel nodded. “You and your companions are troublemakers, and have been dealt with as such. Your three friends will serve the whole city, as is just since they attempted to destroy it.”

“We did no such thing!” Daniel protested, rising to his feet. The guards came forward and forced him back to his knees.

Calder watched with an unpleasant smile. When Daniel was restrained again, he reached out and stroked through his hair. “Oh, but you did,” he said softly. “Your views, your judgment threaten our existence, and that is something that, as administrator, I am sworn to prevent.”

The guards were still holding him down, but Daniel glared up at Calder. “We said we wouldn’t trade with you. That’s not threatening, that’s just our choice.”

Calder shrugged. “Your view on your own actions is unimportant,” he said. “You have been judged, you have been sentenced. Your friends will serve the city. You will serve me.”

Daniel blinked. “No, I won’t,” he said.

Calder smiled, and it was that supercilious look that Daniel had already grown to dislike. “You really have no choice. The deed has already been made out. You’re mine.”

Daniel shook his head. “I’m not a slave.”

“You are a worker,” Calder said. “Be glad that you have not been assigned to work beneath the city. It is a difficult life, with a consequently short lifespan. I do believe your friend O’Neill is the oldest man down there now.”

Daniel closed his eyes, lowered his head and took a deep breath. They wouldn’t stay down there long. They’d get out and they’d come up here and get Daniel out, and then –

“Don’t hope for rescue,” Calder said, putting his hand under Daniel’s chin and pulling his head up. “I told O’Neill that we have a civilized means of keeping our workers in line.” There was a sinking feeling in Daniel’s gut. “By now, they don’t even remember you exist.”

He stared at Calder in shock. “What do you mean?” he asked.

Calder looked up at the guards. “Release him.” Both men let go of Daniel, who shifted uneasily away from his captor and crossed his arms. “Most of the workers have lived all their lives below. They’ve never seen the surface, they’ve never even seen the ventilation shafts that you and O’Neill so foolishly explored.” Daniel listened avidly. Knowledge was never wasted, even if it was gained in unexpected ways. Calder continued his chilling explanation. “They believe that they are all there is, the workers who toil in the mines, those that keep the power plant operational, they believe that they are surviving the ice age in the only way they can.”

“I see,” Daniel said. “So?”

“Well, when a new worker is made, we can’t afford to have him informing those who have lived their whole lives below that there is a city up here, full of light and beauty, so we developed a process to prevent that. It’s called ‘stamping.’ A personality profile is matched to the condemned and then forced over the memory and personality that already exists. At this point, three new workers have joined the power plant. They remember being in the mines, but they don’t remember the ring or ever living on other worlds. They certainly don’t remember each other, or you.”

“You can’t!” Daniel breathed. “Surely not!”

“I have already composed a suitable speech of condolence to your General Hammond explaining that the four of you foolishly insisted on examining the ice fields. I doubt very much that they will have too much difficulty believing it, and since no one can survive such a trip . . .”

“It won’t work,” Daniel said.

“I think it will,” Calder replied. “In the meantime, you are mine to do with as I like.”

Daniel shook his head. “I am not property.”

“Believe what you will,” Calder said casually, placing a proprietary hand on Daniel’s cheek. He pulled away, glaring at the bastard. Calder smiled, then looked over at the guards. “Take him to my chamber and prepare him for my use.”

Daniel launched himself to his feet, not willing to give in tamely to whatever that meant. He shoved past the guards and made for the door, but one of them tripped him and he stumbled forward. They caught his arms, but he didn’t stop struggling until one of them bent his left arm up behind his back in a bone breaking hold. They dragged him back out into the hall and down several passages to an opulent bedroom. Some of the finest fabrics he’d yet seen covered the bed and other furniture, and the rugs on the hardwood floor were fabulous.

The wooden floor had to be old, they hadn’t seen anything sufficiently large to produce such fine wood on such a scale. The hangings . . .

Daniel couldn’t keep distracting himself with observations as they took him to the bed and forced him up onto it. “No!” he shouted.

They turned him over onto his back and strapped his arms and legs down. Daniel lay panting, unable to stop himself from pulling at his bonds. This couldn’t mean what it looked like. He didn’t want to think too closely about what it looked like.

Jack would never let something like this happen to him. Jack was down beneath the surface with no memory that Daniel even existed, if Calder could be believed. They strapped a collar around his neck that held him tightly down to the bed. If he pulled on it at all, it choked him. Then they left the room, and the door closed behind them.

Daniel closed his eyes. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t going to believe this was happening. The door opened, sending a ripple of air across his naked body. Daniel shuddered.

Footsteps moved around the room, but Daniel couldn’t lift his head to see what was happening, not with this collar. He didn’t want to speak because his voice wouldn’t be steady, and he wasn’t about to give Calder that satisfaction. He tried not to imagine what might be going on as he heard drawers open and shut, cupboards open and close. A low chuckle told him that the other person in the room was, in fact, Calder.

Eventually, far sooner than Daniel wanted them to, the footsteps approached the bed. A hand reached out and stroked through the hair just above his genitals and he tried to kick with less than useful results. Another chuckle rewarded his efforts. “You will be fun,” Calder said, sitting down on the bed and leaning over him.

Daniel glared up at him, trying to keep the fear and desperation he felt out of his expression.

“It’s been a while since I had a personal servant,” Calder remarked, stroking Daniel’s chest. Daniel tried futilely to pull away. “I don’t just choose any comely youth, you see. I prefer a man with a few years on him, a man who has been free. It makes the possession of him so much more pleasing.”

“You’re sick,” Daniel growled.

“And you are an enigma. A man with such a gentle nature who fights like a tiger when cornered.” Abruptly Calder shifted to straddle him at the waist. Daniel’s mind had refused to acknowledge that there was no clothing on what of the man he could see, but now he was relieved to discover that he was wearing pants. They were loose, though, and Daniel could feel the other man’s penis growing to erection against his belly.

“This is wrong,” Daniel said, and his voice trembled slightly.

Calder ignored his words. “What does he call you when you’re alone together?” he asked leaning familiarly close, pressing his erection between their bodies. Daniel grimaced and turned his head away. Calder leaned closer still, his breath tickling and warming Daniel’s ear. “I wish now that I had ordered a closer surveillance done on your rooms.” Calder put a hand on the side of his face and turned it back so that they were mere centimeters apart. “What does he call you?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Daniel said, though he suspected that he did. He was hanging onto his calm with every bit of energy he had left.

Calder slapped him lightly on the face, and Daniel blinked at the sudden sting. “O’Neill, what does he call you when you . . .”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship,” Daniel said, cutting him off.

Calder’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me. I had my security staff peek in on your rooms from time to time to make sure you were still in them. I’ve seen the two of you lying together.” Daniel’s gut clenched. “He never lets you out of his sight. I want to know, what does he call you?”

Daniel grit his teeth and looked away.

Calder hit him across the face, much harder this time. “Look at me,” he ordered. Daniel took a deep breath and turned back to face him. “Answer my question.”

“He calls me by my name,” Daniel said.

“You have more name than you need,” Calder said. “What exactly does he call you?”

It wasn’t worth fighting it. “Daniel.”

“Daniel,” Calder breathed, leaning closer, his lips actually brushing Daniel’s cheek. “Daniel. You’re mine, Daniel, not his. Not anymore.”

Daniel’s hands were clenched into fists above his head. Only long practice at feeling helpless enabled him to keep from breaking down. He turned his face away from Calder’s lips. “There’s nothing to be gained from this,” Daniel said, his voice shaking.

“Wrong, Daniel,” Calder said, his tongue darting out to taste Daniel’s skin just behind the hinge of his jaw. Daniel twitched with revulsion. “There is great pleasure to be gained.”

Rocking his hips sideways, Daniel tried to throw Calder off. The other man was caught off balance and fell to the side. Immediately, Daniel started working his hands on the ropes, trying to get free. He doubted that Calder was much of a fighter. He might be able to knock him out if he got loose, and that would be the first step towards escape.

All the pulling he’d done earlier must have had an effect, because he actually managed to get his right hand loose. Calder sat up again, and Daniel cold cocked him. He thumped down to the bed and then slid off the side. Daniel started working feverishly at the collar. One-handed, he felt at quite a disadvantage, but with it still on he couldn’t reach his left wrist with his right hand without choking himself.

He continued to worm away with his left while he fumbled at the collar with his right. He had limited time. Calder wouldn’t stay out for long, and if he couldn’t manage to gag him or something before then, he’d have half the house in the room with them before Daniel could get loose.

The tie on his left hand came loose before the collar did, and Daniel started wrenching at the thing, finally getting it open. He sat up and peered over the edge of the bed. Calder lay on the floor, no longer out but looking pretty groggy. Daniel cast about for something he could use to gag him. There wasn’t time. He bent his knees and started to yank on the ropes around his left ankle.

“Guards!” Daniel flinched at the sudden yell and began to try harder to get his ankles loose. It was a losing battle. “Guards!” Calder ran to a panel on the wall and slapped his hand on it. “Guards!” he called again. The door opened just as Daniel got his right ankle free and began to work on his left. The guards were on him before he could do much more than tug ineffectually at the knot. He kicked the first one that came at him squarely in the gonads. The man fell red-faced to the floor. Someone grabbed his left arm and he swung around to deliver a punch to whatever he could reach. While he was occupied there, another guard grabbed his right leg to keep him from kicking.

Daniel yanked his leg back, trying to pull free, but the guard held firm. He landed a few more solid blows before they overpowered him and bore him back to the bed. Once they had him held down firmly, Calder walked up and peered down at him, eyes narrowed with rage. Daniel noticed with grim satisfaction that he did stay back a bit. “Take him back to his room,” Calder ordered. “I will decide on his punishment later.”

With a few precise jerks on the rope, they freed his left leg and dragged him out of the room. Daniel tried to kick and knee, but there were three of them. They got him to his room, opened the door and shoved him through. He landed on his face, but scrambled back to his feet. The door was already shut behind him.

He glared at the sturdy panel and took several deep breaths. He looked around and wondered exactly how he was supposed to relieve himself or get cleaned up in this tiny space. He wanted to scrub his face and neck and every part of him that bastard had touched. He began to examine every inch of the walls, looking for anything that might be different, might indicate a panel that led to sanitary facilities.

His body had begun to shake, a reaction to the adrenaline crash he was barely staving off. That had gained him nothing but a few bruises and Calder’s anger. A sly part of his mind informed him that it had gained him one other thing. There was great pleasure in having knocked the bastard silly.

After several minutes, he finally found what he was looking for. A part of the wall recessed slightly and slid away to reveal a sink and small toilet. There was only one tap, and the water was tepid at best, but it was better than nothing. He washed his face and hands, used the facilities and then stepped back. As soon as he was out of range, they closed up with a snap, leaving him once more in a featureless box with a bed and a tiny window.

Daniel could only hope that Calder was lying to him. If he wasn’t, they were in for a long stay, because Hammond wouldn’t risk another team if he suspected foul play, and if he didn’t, then he wouldn’t be looking for them. He’d believe them to be dead.


	9. Chapter 9

Hours had passed, nearly a full day, and Jack still didn’t know what was happening to the rest of his team, or what was going to happen to him. In twenty-twenty hindsight, he saw now that he should have checked in with Hammond first before confronting Calder, but worrying over that now would achieve nothing. He’d have plenty of time to agonize over his stupidity when Daniel and the others were safe.

The door opened and two of the guards came in. He gave them an unfriendly grin. “Another medical exam, or something even more fun?”

One of them leveled a weapon at him. “Turn around.”

Jack did as he was told and the second one placed cuffs on his wrists that bound them tightly together. His elbows were not going to be happy with him later. “You could probably yank that a little tighter and turn me inside out,” he said.

They each took one of his arms and led him out of the cell. He went with them quietly, alive to any possible escape route or sign of the others. The doors all seemed to be automatic, which could make things harder. They hadn’t yet identified just what caused them to open, but Carter had theorized that the more secure locations used some kind of proximity signaling devices.

He didn’t have one of those, and he might have difficulty identifying one without help.

They ushered him into what looked like an interview room. There was a table with a chair on either side. One chair looked quite comfortable, ergonomically designed and well padded. Needless to say, that was not the one the guards guided him to. His chair was of a different breed altogether. The back was narrow, allowing the guards to guide his bound arms around it, which they did. They then attached the cuffs to some kind of bracket just below the seat, forcing him to sit leaning back. He glared at the guards as they left him there. He wondered if this was the standard set up or if he was being accorded special treatment.

A man walked in pushing something that looked remarkably like an AV cart. Without looking at Jack once, he positioned the cart at the end of the table and left. This wasn’t exactly filling Jack with warm fuzzy feelings. What was it he was going to get to watch? He doubted he’d like whatever it was.

A few moments later Calder walked in. Jack strained against the cuffs and the bracket, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Calder walked calmly over, picked up something from the cart, and sat down in the comfortable chair. He smiled and Jack wanted to punch his smug face in, but it almost looked like someone had beaten him to it.

Before he could pop off a snide comment to that effect, Calder spoke. “Colonel O’Neill, the Council of Justice has conferred on you and your companions, and found you guilty of subversion.”

“We didn’t actually do anything!” Jack protested.

“You and Dr. Jackson trespassed on a secure facility –”

“There were no locks, so I would hardly call it a secure facility.”

Calder raised a hand. “You’re not here to defend yourself, colonel, sentence has been passed and is already being executed.”

“What sentence?”

“You, Major Carter and the alien Teal’c have been sentenced to hard labor. You will join those you watched below the surface.”

Jack blinked. So they might have to do some work while they figured out how to escape. “What about Daniel?”

“Dr. Jackson is being placed separately,” Calder said unctuously. Jack’s eyes widened. “He will be in a considerably safer and more pleasant environment on the surface.”

“Oh?” Jack said, his tone inviting elaboration.

Calder smiled insincerely. “We’ll get to that later. The term of your labor shall be the rest of your natural life. Your General Hammond has already been informed that you were foolish enough to insist on a visit to the ice fields outside the city, and we are currently searching for all four of you, but there is little hope for your survival.”

Hammond wouldn’t buy it, or at least Jack didn’t think he would. He would have told the general if he’d been planning to go outside the domes.

Apparently his glare pleased Calder, because the smile became more sincere. “You needn’t be worrying about escape. Within four hours, you will no longer wish to leave us.”

“Like hell!”

“You asked what our secret was, and I said I’d show you,” Calder replied. He pressed a button on the thing he’d picked up off the cart, and a screen lit up onto a dark, dingy looking room. Carter lay on her back on a bed, wearing reddish pajama-looking things.

A dark-haired woman walked over from somewhere out of the camera’s view and put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. “Thera, wake up, it’s time for your first shift.”

Carter blinked and looked up at her, and Jack expected the dynamo he’d known for four years to whack that woman back and start looking for escape. Instead, she blinked and said, “It is? I didn’t mean to oversleep.”

“You didn’t oversleep, Thera, you were sedated for the journey. You remember, the trip from the mines is a difficult one, and you became ill in the vehicle.”

Jack watched in shock as Carter started to nod. “Right, yes, I . . . I do remember.” Her eyes looked vague and confused, but she seemed to be buying into the nonsense. “But it’s time for me to go to work?”

“It is.” The woman stepped back and helped Carter to her feet. “Now, I am Brenna, supervisor of this plant. You are now a member of Section 23.”

Carter smiled happily. It was an eerie thing. It was as if they’d stripped her of herself, and this meager identity . . . member of Section 23 . . . made her feel like a person again. “It is an honor to serve,” she said.

“Come along, let me introduce you to Kegan. She’ll be training you.” They walked out of sight of the camera and Calder turned off the image. Jack stared at the blank screen in horror. He wanted to believe that she was playing along with it, but he couldn’t. It was too real, too genuine, and he knew Carter well enough to recognize playacting when he saw it.

He turned to face Calder who was gazing at him with immense satisfaction. “Teal’c will be processed next and then you.” Jack shook his head. Maybe it wouldn’t work on Teal’c. It was a feeble hope, but it was better than nothing. As if reading his mind, Calder said, “If he proves problematic, we may have to eliminate him, so I hope that isn’t the case. He promises to be a strong worker.” Jack tried to launch himself at Calder, but only succeeded in wrenching his shoulders painfully. Calder laughed, and Jack glared daggers at him. “You will join them. The process takes some time, but I’m starting you later. There’s something . . . else you need to see before then.” There was a glint in Calder’s eyes that made him apprehensive.

“What?” he asked. Calder pressed a different button, and the screen came on to a fancy bedroom with enormous windows that showed a vast view of the city. “What’s this?” he asked, puzzled.

“Just watch, colonel,” Calder said, leaning back as if he was about to see something very enjoyable. Acid was churning in Jack’s gut, and he felt as if something in his mind was putting two and two together but not telling him the answer. Then, the door opened and two soldiers came in half-supporting, half-dragging a naked and very dopey-looking Daniel.

“What the hell?” Jack felt his arms start to tremble, he was straining against the bonds so hard. “What’s going on?” Calder didn’t speak, but he didn’t need to. It was all too obvious what was going on.

They got Daniel up on the bed and laid him out flat on his back. He tried to push them away, but it was clear that he was drugged. His movements lacked coordination and force. Jack watched, rage burning a hole in his gut. The guards pulled silver chains out of pockets in the corners of the bed. There appeared to be some kind of padding in the cuffs that they clasped around his wrists and ankles, but when they stepped back, Daniel lay spread-eagled with a leather collar around his neck that held his head down to the bed. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated to an enormous extent. The guards left him alone on the bed, fully restrained. He pulled at the chains and gradually began to come of out the drugged haze.

Jack turned to Calder, who was watching avidly. “This isn’t going to gain you anything,” he said. “Three workers isn’t that much to add to your efforts down there.” He tried to ignore Daniel’s increasingly frantic movements and the unhappy sounds he was making.

Calder smiled lazily at him. “No, I suppose not,” he said, rising. “But, as I was telling Daniel earlier, it’s been a while since I had a personal servant.”

Jack stared at him. “You?” he growled venomously.

“He has been deeded to me, yes.” Calder smiled broadly. “You three are the property of the city. Daniel Jackson is my personal property.”

A cold fury settled over Jack. Struggling now would not help in any way, but he was going to get away, he was going to make that bastard pay. Calder put the remote down on the cart without turning the machine off and left the room. Jack was alone with an image of his best friend, the man he loved, naked, bound to another man’s bed, waiting to be . . .

He shook his head, trying to blot the word out of his mind, but he couldn’t stop watching.

About ten minutes passed, and then the door to that bedroom opened. Daniel froze on the bed, but the collar prevented him from looking to see who had come in. Jack could see all too easily, though. Calder was wearing nothing but a pair of loose, drawstring pants.

“Who is it?” Daniel’s voice was still slurred a bit.

Calder chuckled. “It’s your owner, Daniel.”

“Chains, now, huh?” Daniel said, his tone full of disgust. “Do I scare you?”

“I must confess,” Calder said, drawing closer to Daniel, “that you’re a man of great resource.” He brought his hand up to the bruise on his cheek that Jack had noticed earlier. _Way to go, Daniel!_ “But I doubt even Teal’c could break those chains.”

“Why the dope if you’re so convinced I can’t break loose?”

“I’d rather you weren’t damaged before we start,” Calder replied. “And it’s clear that my guards have difficulty controlling you without violence.”

Jack wanted a P-90 and Calder in range so he could spray the room with the bastard’s blood. He didn’t want Daniel damaged _before_ they started? What did that mean about damage _after_ they were . . . an involuntary growl escaped his throat.

Calder had reached the side of the bed, carefully not obstructing Jack’s view. He stroked Daniel’s belly, causing him to twist and try to get away, but he had nowhere to go. “Do you have an idea how disgusting you are?” Daniel asked. His voice was coming clearer now, probably a sign that the drugs had almost completely worn off.

“You’re the broad-minded one, I thought,” Calder said. “This is a part of our culture.”

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Daniel growled. “Plenty of cultures do vile things to their members.”

Calder leaned across Daniel, and pressed his lips to the skin above his heart. “You will acclimate. You have no choice.”

“Never!” Daniel snarled.

“Do you realize that somewhere in this building, your colonel O’Neill is helpless and vulnerable, and that I have the power of life and death over him? The same is true of the others, truth be told, but I know that he is special to you.”

Jack grit his teeth. Damn the bastard. There wasn’t anything Daniel wouldn’t –

“Let them go,” Daniel said, his voice curiously calm. “Let them go and I’ll . . . I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll stay willingly.”

Calder sat back, looking startled, and Jack’s jaw dropped. “Why would I do that?” Calder asked. “I’m no fool. They’d go back and then return with large numbers of troops. No, Daniel, I don’t need your sacrifice, noble though it is. I have you, and for what I want to do, I don’t need your willing submission.” Jack was going to have to talk to Daniel later about this whole self-sacrifice thing.

Daniel turned his head away from the man who was leaning over him, and Jack could see his eyes. Even at this distance, he could see the desperate horror. Calder’s hand was stroking up and down his torso, from the base of his neck to his crotch.

“Who do you belong to?” Calder asked.

“Myself,” Daniel said.

Calder shifted up to his knees and delivered a hard, back handed slap to Daniel’s face. “Who do you belong to?” he demanded.

Jack found himself mentally begging Daniel not to be a stubborn fool, to just say it and make the prick happy.

There was a pause, and then Daniel spoke. “You have a deed that tells you the answer you want to hear. Why ask me?”

“I will not grant you clothing till you acknowledge my ownership of you,” Calder said.

Jack could see Daniel breathing slowly and deeply to maintain his calm. “Fine,” he said. “Some scholars claim that modesty is a culturally created notion, that clothing started out as mere decoration. I can go without decoration if you insist.”

Damn him, Jack thought. Damn his brilliant, everlastingly stubborn mind.

Calder moved suddenly away from Daniel. He walked over to a cupboard and opened it. Then he glanced in the direction of the camera. Jack’s hair stood on end at the malice in that look.

He pulled out a box about a foot long, six inches wide and maybe two inches deep and carried it across to the bedside table. “Tell me, Daniel,” he said, sitting down again. “When O’Neill takes you, does he do it from behind or in front?”

Jack gaped. What the hell was that about?

“I told you, we don’t have that kind of relationship,” Daniel said. “You’ve misread –”

Calder administered another slap. “And I told you not to lie to me!” Daniel turned his head back to glare at him. “Does he take you from in front or behind?”

Jack didn’t believe what he was hearing. Calder knew . . . or thought he knew . . . what was going on between him and Daniel. What had he done? What impression had he given that had sent the bastard down this path?

“He doesn’t ‘take me’ at all!” Daniel snapped.

“Fine!” Calder leaned close and wrapped his fingers in Daniel’s hair. “I plan to ‘take you’ in as many ways as possible.”

Jack wished he could turn his head away, wished he could just not watch, but he couldn’t ignore what was happening. He couldn’t, with this in front of him, pretend he didn’t know what was going on. He watched. He heard. And he seethed.


	10. Chapter 10

Daniel clenched his teeth and glared at his tormentor. There were no words to describe the utter contempt he felt for the man, but there was also no way, at the moment, that he was getting out of this situation on his own. Calder was clearly determined to get back at Jack through him, though it seemed odd to be getting back at someone who wouldn’t know about it and theoretically couldn’t remember enough to be upset about it if he did.

Calder was stroking his hands down Daniel’s ribcage. The sensation made his skin crawl. His attacker lifted his leg and straddled him again, placing his hands on Daniel’s pectoral muscles. “I had considered having you shaved, but I decided against it. You’re not so hairy that it’s unpleasant.” Daniel blinked at him a couple of times. So, Calder didn’t like hairy men. That was something he didn’t need to know.

He gulped. The collar was feeling more and more restrictive as time went by, something almost like claustrophobia was building. He tried to ignore it. Mentioning that it was bothering him wouldn’t help. Calder would probably like it.

Questing fingers found and pinched his nipples. Daniel gasped, and his fists clenched. Calder twirled the nubs in his fingers, twisting them just to the point of pain and then releasing. Calder’s cock was resting against his belly and had begun to rise again, growing warm and heavy against Daniel’s body.

Calder bent low over him, and once more Daniel could feel that offensive thing pressed between them, growing harder at the contact. “Do you take him in your mouth?” Calder asked, his face close to Daniel’s.

Daniel turned away. He was never going to convince Calder that he didn’t have a sexual relationship with Jack, and trying to persuade him would only make things worse.

“I don’t think you’re quite ready for that with me, in any case,” Calder said, and Daniel closed his eyes. Damn right he wasn’t. He wasn’t ready for any of this. He wasn’t ever going to be ready. He wanted to get away from this planet, away from this utterly sane villain who thought that raping a man was quite acceptable, as long as that man could be considered a criminal by whatever stretch of law he’d used. There probably weren’t many on this planet who would think twice about it if they were told.

Calder dropped his head to Daniel’s shoulder and began to bite his way down to his chest. Daniel shuddered as those lips and teeth touched his skin. There wasn’t much moisture, but it felt in Daniel’s mind as if he were leaving a trail of slime behind as he bit and sucked and licked. He wanted to shove Calder off, but he couldn’t use his arms, and simply tipping him off as he’d done earlier wouldn’t help.

The teeth found a nipple and bit down. Daniel gasped at the sudden pain. Calder’s hands started moving lower, slipping underneath Daniel. Fingers kneaded his ass, and he was clenching his jaw so tightly that he’d started to have a tension headache. Consciously, he relaxed his jaw.

Calder shifted lower, his penis was now pressing against Daniel’s through the fabric of his pants. He grimaced at the contact and tried to imagine himself someplace else. Abydos, that cell on Klorel’s ship, anywhere but here.

Hands pulled the cheeks of his butt apart and a finger tickled at his anus. “No!” he growled without volition. “Stop it, you – gah!” Calder bit down on his other nipple, harder this time, and Daniel cried out.

Calder chuckled, and the vibration passed through his teeth to Daniel’s body, making him want to throw the bastard off. He focused on keeping his jaw loose, so that he wouldn’t break a tooth or something crazy like that.

The finger at his anus began to massage the opening, and Daniel tried to sit up, his instincts overcoming his knowledge that he couldn’t. He caught his throat on the collar and began to cough. With each contraction of the muscles of his throat, his gorge rose till he had to swallow bile. Calder ignored his difficulties, and Daniel wondered if he’d have to suffocate for Calder to think there was a problem.

If Calder thought that Daniel’s body was going to relax for him, he had a rude awakening coming. Somehow, though, Daniel didn’t think he was quite that stupid. He was probably just enjoying the shudders that were running through his captive. He seemed to actively enjoy Daniel’s reactions of disgust and hatred.

The hands withdrew from his ass, and Calder leaned up across him, grabbing the case he’d put down on the table. Opening it beside Daniel on the bed, he pulled something out and then snapped it shut again and put it on the floor. He placed something cold on Daniel’s belly, it felt like a jar of some kind, and then got off the bed. Daniel turned his head, but he couldn’t tell exactly what was happening. His breath began to come more quickly, and he felt panic stirring.

The bed shifted between his legs, and then he felt skin brushing his. Calder had removed his pants, which meant that he was naked now, too, which meant that the next step was a whole lot easier to achieve, and Daniel really didn’t want to go there. And now he was babbling in his head. Not a good sign.

Calder’s penis bobbed against Daniel’s thigh, and Daniel tried to slow his breathing. Panic would get him nowhere, especially since it was increasing the claustrophobic reaction he was having to the collar. Then the other man leaned up further, and Daniel felt their penises brush together and he wanted to scream, but he clamped his jaw tight to keep the words in. Calder wouldn’t understand most of them anyway.

Grabbing a bolster, he stuffed it under Daniel’s ass, lifting him up off the bed at a sharp angle that put uncomfortable pressure on the collar at his neck and played havoc with Daniel’s attempts to calm himself down. Calder picked up the jar and Daniel heard something that sounded like he was removing a screw-on lid.

The lid hit the floor and Daniel wondered what was in the jar. He heard hands rubbing slickly together and realized abruptly what it was. He yanked at the chains on his wrists and ankles, trying to get away despite the fact that he knew he couldn’t. Calder’s laugh filled him with impotent rage, and then he felt slippery fingers between his legs, reaching for and then lubricating his anus. For a minute or so, Calder merely massaged the opening, but then a finger popped in, making Daniel jerk with surprise and revulsion.

First one finger, then two, pushing and stretching. Daniel was breathing shallowly, trying to keep from choking. It hurt, but he didn’t feel any tearing. Daniel got the distinct impression that the effort had less to do with preventing his pain than making sure that valuable property wasn’t damaged.

Calder’s other hand, still slick from the lubricant, began just above Daniel’s pubis and started stroking up towards Daniel’s chest, leaving a trail of the stuff behind. He reached the left nipple and began to rub it hard, pinching and pulling. Daniel twitched. Calder had to know he was causing pain, so evidently that was fun for him. Just Daniel’s luck that the creep was a sadist. He just hoped he wasn’t much of a sadist. Daniel had read some pretty nasty stuff in the history books, and there were places he didn’t want to go.

After one final stretch that caused Daniel to wince with pain, Calder pulled his hand out of Daniel’s anus and shifted so that he was kneeling between Daniel’s legs. He leaned up over Daniel supporting himself with his elbows while continuing to tease his nipples roughly. Daniel could feel his breath on his face, and turned his head so that he didn’t have to look at the man who was raping him.

He felt the tip of Calder’s penis when it found the right spot and closed his eyes. He wanted this to stop. He wanted this to be a terrible dream. He wanted to wake up clutching at Jack and panicking, no matter how embarrassing it might be. He –

The head of Calder’s penis penetrated him. Daniel’s fists were clenched so tight they hurt. Now he was holding his jaws apart so firmly that it was causing a headache. He couldn’t win for losing.

Calder shifted forward, further in, and he leaned down to grab Daniel’s earlobe between his teeth. Daniel lifted his head just enough to thump his head into Calder’s, pushing him away. There was a sharp pain in his ear, but he could live with that. Calder let out an angry grunt, but his focus was quickly drawn away by his continued movement in Daniel’s ass. His penis was making its way up into Daniel’s rectum, stretching and hurting, causing immense pressure, but not tearing. He continued to ease forward until he was all the way in, and Daniel felt like his organs were being pressed towards his neck, choking him further.

He was full. The pressure was getting to be almost unbearable.

“Daniel?” His eyes flipped open and he looked up to see Calder gazing down at him. “Open your mouth.” Daniel shook his head. Calder smiled and said, “If you don’t let me kiss you without biting or trying to hurt me, Daniel, the next man I breach will be O’Neill.” Calder’s voice was calm and the threat was completely believable.

Daniel gut roiled, but he swallowed then opened his mouth. Calder’s tongue plunged in and he began to chew on Daniel’s lips. His hips started rocking, little mini-thrusts inside Daniel’s body, and Daniel wanted him to die.

Calder groaned suddenly, his tongue still claiming Daniel’s mouth, when the first jets of semen pulsed into Daniel’s body. Daniel tensed against this further invasion, and Calder moaned in appreciation. Daniel wanted to bite down on the tongue that was exploring his mouth, but the knowledge that Jack would pay for it if he did gave him the strength to resist the urge.

Daniel would give anything at this moment for Jack and Teal’c to come into the room and make short work of Calder. His imagination shied away from having Sam find him in this position, but Jack and Teal’c . . . Daniel shuddered again. Sam wouldn’t cope with this. The guys could let their anger out and it would do a lot of good. Sam would freak.

Calder’s penis went flaccid and slipped out, leaving a sense of overstretched soreness and mess behind it. Giving Daniel’s lower lip a last hard bite, Calder ended the kiss as well. He was smiling, and his eyes were full of satiated lust. “Who do you belong to?” he asked, his voice low and hoarse.

“Myself!” Daniel snapped. He worked his saliva and spat onto the bed beside him, trying to rid himself of the taste of his attacker.

Calder gave him a hard slap across the face that jerked his head sideways and caused his neck to pull bruisingly against the collar. “Wrong answer,” he said in a low, malicious voice as Daniel turned back and glared at him. Then he got off the bed and Daniel heard a door open in the wall opposite the entrance. Presumably it was a bathroom.

Daniel breathed deeply, trying to regain control and trying not to imagine Calder’s emissions reacting to gravity and the hips-upward position of his body by pooling in his intestines.

Maybe Calder would slip and break his head open in the bathroom. He could hope.

If Jack knew about this, Calder’s life wouldn’t be worth spit. But Jack didn’t . . . couldn’t know . . . and if he did know, it would mean nothing to him.

* * *

Jack sat in the chair fuming silently. It had been nearly ten minutes since Calder had struck Daniel – again – and then left him alone, still bound in a position designed to cater to Calder’s pleasure.

Jack hadn’t felt this helpless since he stood in the pediatric ICU watching his son die from an accidental gunshot wound he’d given himself with Jack’s own gun. Jack shuddered that memory away and stared at the video screen. He could only imagine how Daniel must feel, but he knew he’d like to wring Calder’s neck.

The questions Calder kept asking . . . Jack wanted to throw him out those big picture windows and listen to see if he could hear the thud when the bastard hit bottom. Does O’Neill do this? Does he do that? The ‘he’ was almost capitalized the way Calder said it. Jack had certainly made an impact on Calder, but it was Daniel that was paying the price for his mistakes. That threat against him . . . Daniel giving in to prevent Calder from attacking him . . . even if he had the wrong idea about their relationship, Calder had clearly picked up on the strength of their friendship.

Daniel’s breathing had finally slowed, and he seemed to be calmer than he had been just after Calder had left. That position, though both uncomfortable and degrading, wasn’t doing him any good. Jack wasn’t sure whether Calder had left Daniel that way by design or neglect, but it didn’t much matter in terms of the results. That angle had to be giving Daniel trouble with the collar, and the inability to move for such a long span of time wouldn’t be good for anyone.

Jack gulped. How was Daniel going to cope with his? Not just the experience itself, but the fact that Jack had witnessed it? Jack didn’t know how he’d take it if their positions were reversed.

One thing in particular worried him immensely. In the normal course of events, Daniel sought emotional support from Jack when he suffered trauma. They were the closest of close friends, and even when Jack had been at his worst, he’d still been there for Daniel after his experience at Rigar’s hands.

This might be different, though. Jack had declared his sexual attraction a little over a month ago, so Daniel might think twice about seeking comfort from him on this occasion. Who else did he have? He had other friends at the SGC, but Jack was in a position to know that when he was hurting the most, it took patience and effort to get him to deal with it. Otherwise he shut down and tried to keep it all inside. Jack didn’t know if he could trust anyone else to drag it out of him. Not even Carter or Teal’c.

The door that he assumed led to Calder’s bathroom opened and Calder emerged, naked as the day he was born. Jack shook his head. He wasn’t going to . . . he couldn’t possibly . . . Jack didn’t want to see that again. Part of him felt guilty for even thinking that, because no matter how wretched watching it made him, it had to make Daniel feel immeasurably worse to be experiencing it.

Calder walked over and pulled the bolster out from under Daniel’s butt. Once Daniel was flat, Calder knelt across him on the bed, actually sitting on him from the look of things. Jack prevented himself from yanking at the bonds but it was a near thing. He couldn’t do any good hurting himself in here where he couldn’t even reach either Calder or Daniel.

* * *

Daniel glared up at Calder, but he didn’t speak. Gravity was now working the other way, and he could feel stuff dribbling out his ass. It was ticklish and sticky, and left him wanting to throw up. Calder was actually resting some of his weight across Daniel’s hips and that wasn’t helping.

“So, Daniel, do you want that collar removed for a time?” Daniel blinked up at him, but didn’t speak. Calder bent and stroked Daniel’s cheek. “You really do have to answer, Daniel. Yes or no, do you want the collar removed?”

Daniel resisted the urge to make a snide remark and said, “Yes.”

“Would you like to know what you have to do to gain that?”

Gulping, Daniel eyed Calder nervously and said, “Yes.”

Calder smiled. “I want you to tell me about the last time you and O’Neill had sexual relations, in detail.”

Daniel took a deep breath and looked up at the man who was looming over him. “Jack and I don’t have that kind of relationship,” he said with as much calm patience as he could muster.

Calder’s eyes flashed angrily. He reached around to grab Daniel’s balls and squeezed them tightly for an instant. Daniel let out a yelp at the unexpected pain. “I do not know why you persist in lying. Do you like pain?”

“I’m not lying!” Daniel ground out. Calder squeezed again and he grimaced. “Son of a bitch!”

Pleasure at Daniel’s discomfort filled Calder’s expression, and his hands were now massaging Daniel’s balls. Daniel twitched his hips involuntarily, trying to move away from him. Calder tilted his head thoughtfully. “Have you fathered any children?” he asked.

“No,” Daniel said.

“None?” Calder shook his head, a slight smile on his lips. “A man with your intelligence and talents should be trying to make sure his gifts are passed on to the next generation. I think I will have to rectify that at my earliest convenience. I can think of a half a dozen women at least who would be delighted to bear a child sired by a man like you.”

Daniel’s gut twisted at the thought. “According to you, I’m a worker,” he said. “Wouldn’t that make my child less desirable?”

Calder shook his head. “Ever the cultural observer, I see. No, you were not born a worker. Criminals are in a different class altogether. In fact, having your child would be a prize much sought after, I should think. I might be able to make use of that.”

Daniel couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Calder was staring at the wall above the bed, obviously absorbed in considering the political capital to be reaped by putting Daniel out to stud. He cleared his throat. “That would require me to participate, wouldn’t it?” he said.

Calder looked down with a contemptuous sneer. “Trust me, it could be arranged.” He stroked Daniel’s chest. “It could definitely be arranged.”

Daniel felt himself start to shake. It was bad enough to be Calder’s pleasure toy, but if things went on long enough that he was forced by whatever means to father children on women here . . . he couldn’t . . . the idea of being used that way was revolting. So was the idea of leaving his child behind on this planet, to be raised in this culture. What would Hammond say? What would Daniel say? ‘Sorry, sir, we’ve got to go back, I’ve got six or seven babies in utero back on that planet.’ Then what could they do? Kidnap the women? Bring them to Earth till they gave birth, then let them go?

He didn’t want to think about it. It wasn’t going to happen. They’d get out of here before then. The hand on his balls tightened again and Daniel’s focus sharpened on the here and now. He looked up into Calder’s puzzled eyes. “Of all the threats I’ve made so far, that one seems to have you the most distressed,” he said, loosening his grip on Daniel’s balls again. “How very intriguing.” Daniel’s jaw set and he tried to control his expression. Calder’s lips took on that little half-smile. “And it wasn’t even a threat.” Daniel blinked up at him, utterly appalled and angry. “In our culture, being granted the right to have more than one child is a privilege much sought after. I’m giving you the opportunity to have several, possibly as many as six. That’s unheard of here.”

“It’s an honor I’d rather decline, all the same,” Daniel said .

“It isn’t an offer, Daniel,” Calder said, his fingers once more stroking Daniel’s balls. “You’re not free to decline. If I choose to breed you, you will breed.” Daniel shook his head helplessly. “However, it’s not an issue at the moment. At the moment what is at issue is my desire to see you squirm while I spend myself in your body again.”

Daniel turned his head away. He didn’t want the expression on his face to give his reaction away. His stomach churned and he felt the edges of despair. Calder could do this tomorrow or later this evening for all he knew. It would only take once, and then Daniel would have a thousand unbearable decisions to make.

And there was nothing Daniel could do to prevent it.

* * *

As if raping him wasn’t bad enough.

Jack stared at the agony on Daniel’s face and wished . . . the violence that was filling his thoughts wasn’t comfortable, but rage bubbled beneath the surface of his mind, making it hard to think about anything else.

Carter, her memories altered, was beneath the ground, learning how to maintain the generator that powered this society, Teal’c was being brainwashed so he could follow, and Daniel was being molested before his eyes, after having been informed that he was a prize stud, and that his ‘owner’ was only waiting for the right offer to breed him. To think, yesterday they’d been talking about handing these people the key to the galaxy.

As Calder began all over again, Jack started to wonder if he could find a way to slide his hands through the damned cuffs so he could attack the bastard when he came back.

Assuming he _came_ back. Assuming he didn’t just send guards in to take Jack to whatever process was involved in turning him into a good little worker. Jack growled at the empty room in frustration. He hated feeling this helpless. What was involved in that mind control process? Whatever it was, it clearly left one a blank slate, easily influenced and led.

And it would make him forget what he’d just seen. Forget Earth. Forget Sara and Charlie and his parents and fishing and everything. It would make him forget Daniel.

Daniel let out a yelp and Jack’s eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out just what Calder was doing. The camera wasn’t close enough, and Calder’s shoulder was blocking his view, but it didn’t matter. It was making Daniel very unhappy.

Jack vowed that whatever happened, he would find a way to make Calder pay.

* * *

Calder bit down hard on the skin above Daniel’s left nipple and then began to suck. Daniel let out a cry at the bite, and then squeezed his eyes shut. The suction grew even more painful than the bite had been as it intensified. He tried automatically to push the bastard away as the pain grew worse, but the movement of his hands just rattled the chains above his head, emphasizing his helplessness.

Finally, Calder let up, and Daniel knew there’d be a nasty bruise. Calder reached out and tapped his fingers against the bruise, then stroked it with something akin to affection. “I think I’ll cover you with these,” he said. “That way, when you walk through the house, no one will be able to miss just why you’re here.” He shifted down to kneel between Daniel’s legs again, and bent to press his lips to the skin of Daniel’s lower abdomen. Daniel grit his teeth and clenched his fists. A hickey practically in his pubic hair. He twisted his hips, trying to discourage Calder, but the teeth just bit down harder.

Calder had placed seven hickeys before he got down to business again. Daniel wondered if he was staking a claim or something.

A hand wrapped around his penis, arresting Daniel’s attention. His teeth were beginning to ache from the way he was clenching them. “Very nice,” Calder said consideringly, stroking. “Very nice indeed.”

“Look,” Daniel said. “There’s got to be some way around this.” He twitched as Calder tugged on the head of his penis, but he wasn’t going to let himself get distracted. “You realize that my government isn’t likely to trade with you if you can’t even produce –”

Calder surged forward and put his hands on either side of Daniel’s torso, supporting himself as he leaned over Daniel so that their faces were on level. Daniel broke off in surprise and some alarm. “I really don’t care if your government ever trades with us,” Calder said, and Daniel blinked at him. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re doing very well on our own.”

Daniel nodded, swallowing convulsively. He could feel Calder’s erect penis dangling against his belly. “You’re doing amazingly well, but there are other options. You don’t have to keep those people down there. We might be able to find ways to help you build more efficient power plants that wouldn’t require so many people to run them. You could integrate them into your –”

Calder placed a hand over Daniel’s mouth. “Daniel, I’m perfectly satisfied with the current situation,” he said. “Somehow, I don’t think your government is enlightened enough to allow me to keep you, and I am quite certain that Colonel O’Neill would never agree to it even if they did.”

Daniel stared at him in shock. He tried to speak, and Calder removed his hand, tilting his head in a condescending attitude. “There is nothing special about me,” he said. “I’m just –”

“On the contrary,” Calder said. “Besides being physically very pleasing, you are a man of intelligence and learning. Your lover clearly thinks highly of you despite the fact that he’s a military man who finds the sciences and the study of culture to be quite boring.”

“Jack doesn’t –” Daniel started, but Calder shook his head.

“The only times he showed any interest were in the Museum of War and the Museum of Law.” He paused. “Oh, and he seemed very interested in our music.”

“Jack is a music lover,” Daniel said. “Truly, though, we can offer you a great many things. There are places –”

Calder covered his mouth again. “Daniel, I know what you’re trying to do,” he said with an amused smile. “But you see, I know exactly what I want. Here I am in charge. It may be a small population, but I am in complete control. I have the best of everything, I get what I want, and the people are happy for the most part.” He shrugged. “There is little dissent, and what there is gets dealt with swiftly, efficiently, and without loss of life. Even those working the plants and the mines are happy, because they believe they are doing the best they can. Because they don’t know there’s anything better to be had, they enjoy their lives and feel both productive and fulfilled.”

Daniel shook his head and tried to speak, but Calder didn’t let his mouth free this time. “No,” he said. “You have attempted to distract me long enough. I have work to do, but I want to have you one more time before I go back to it.”

Daniel closed his eyes. Calder removed his hand and Daniel opened his mouth to speak, but he only got one syllable out before Calder claimed his mouth firmly with his tongue and teeth. After an interminable kiss, Calder pulled away and said, “No more talking, Daniel. Sounds are all right, but no more words.”

Scowling, Daniel closed his mouth. Now wasn’t the time to piss Calder off.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have time to get creative,” his captor said contemplatively. “We’ll be more adventurous in the future.” It was a struggle, but Daniel kept the spate of words that threatened to spill out of him inside. Creativity was the last thing he wanted. The Roman emperor Tiberius was creative, and Daniel didn’t want to go there.

Calder sat up again and reached for the jar, which he’d apparently left on the bed near Daniel’s leg. Once again, he slicked himself up, then started lubricating Daniel.

“I’m glad I had the medical staff give you an enema during your exam.” Daniel closed his eyes and tried to still his rage. His body was not his for the moment. He had to accept that to survive. If he kept getting angry about every insult to his privacy and invasion of his body, he would run out of emotional stamina.

Calder reached his fingers deep inside him, then drew them out slowly, watching Daniel’s expression. Without taking his eyes off Daniel’s face, he reached for the pillow that had served as a support before and replaced it, tilting Daniel upwards again. The shifting of the collar made Daniel’s throat catch, and he started gasping for air.

After a moment, Calder reached out and loosened the collar. He didn’t remove it, but he eased the restraint a little. Daniel took a deep breath and managed to keep from coughing. Calder watched him, then smiled. Daniel guessed he was pleased by the power play.

His hands had paused in their groping, now he resumed, gripping Daniel’s ass in hard hands. A moment later, Daniel felt Calder’s penis seeking entrance. He clenched his fists tightly as Calder drove into him. The earlier activities had loosened the passage, but not enough to make the sudden thrust easy to take, and certainly not enough to make it painless.

Daniel let out a loud gasp of protest. Calder was rougher this time, his hands pulling Daniel towards him in time with his thrusts forward. Each thrust was painful, but Daniel still felt no tearing. Just stretching beyond his body’s natural limits.

Calder pumped into him, grunting softly with each forward motion. Daniel could do nothing but endure. The yanking kept pulling him against the collar, never enough to choke, just enough to keep reminding him firmly of its presence. Finally, Calder ejaculated, semen pouring into Daniel’s bowels again in hot jets. Calder bent over him as he came, biting down hard on Daniel’s shoulder and then sucking.

When he was done, he collapsed over Daniel, breathing hard and utterly relaxed. Daniel wanted to kill him. He wanted to break his neck and then cut him into tiny pieces to burn. He wanted to go home and tell Jack what had happened and then listen to Jack rant and rave about how he’d like to cut Calder into a million tiny pieces and feed him to Daniel’s fish.

After what seemed like a long time, Calder sat up, kneeling once more between Daniel’s knees. Daniel’s joints were aching from the strain of staying in the same extended position for so long, his muscles were shaking, his heart was beating from the adrenaline of the impotent fight or flight reflex he was experiencing. Calder sat looking sated and insufferably pleased with himself

“So, Daniel, are you ready to admit who owns you yet?” Daniel’s eyes flicked to meet Calder’s, and it was clear he was quite serious in his question. “I have told you I will grant you clothes if you answer that question correctly. Do you want to walk around the house with these . . .” He fingered the hickeys that were easiest to reach. “Plain for anyone to see?”

Daniel closed his eyes. He should say it. It didn’t mean anything, really. It just felt like such a defeat to say the words out loud.

Calder bent and lifted Daniel’s hip, and pressed his lips to one of Daniel’s buttocks. Applying teeth and suction, he gave Daniel a ninth hickey, then he leaned across Daniel’s body. “Who do you belong to?” he asked.

Daniel stared at him for a long moment. “Sha’re,” he said finally.

Calder sat up, looking startled. “Sha’re? Who is that?”

“My wife.”

Calder’s brows knit. “But she’s dead,” he said. “You told one of your guides.”

Daniel attempted automatically to shrug, but the position made it impossible. “That doesn’t mean I don’t still belong to her.”

Calder shook his head. “Don’t be ridiculous. That would be an insane waste of resources.”

“We don’t have that problem,” Daniel replied. “And she hasn’t been dead a year yet.”

“I might have sympathy for you,” Calder said, “if you weren’t already having a relationship with O’Neill.” Daniel grit his teeth and looked away. Denying it again would probably only get him slapped again. “Or does that predate your wife’s death?”

Daniel glowered at him. “Our _friendship_ predates my wife’s death,” he said through gritted teeth. “In fact, our friendship predates my wife. I met Sha’re after I met Jack.”

“And you sought comfort with him after losing her,” Calder said. “How touching.” He undid the collar and slid it out from whatever it was attached to on the bed. Tossing it aside, he drew back and got off the bed. He pulled the pillow out from under Daniel’s rump and walked across the room to fiddle with something on the wall. Then he disappeared into the bathroom again. Daniel fought to keep the looming tears from falling. Thinking of Sha’re had not been a good idea.

Calder emerged after about fifteen minutes, dressed for work. He walked over to the bed and gazed down at Daniel. “You are mine now, Daniel. Your answer was not correct.” Daniel closed his eyes and bit his lip. He winced. It was still tender from all the chewing Calder had done.

Calder walked to the door, which opened. The guards came in, faces impassive, not even looking at Daniel. “See to it he gets an hour to himself in the bathing chamber, then take him to his room and have someone check on him. I don’t think there’s any serious damage, but I want him checked.”

“Yes sir.”

“Make sure he doesn’t do himself any harm. He’s new to this life, and you know how that can be.” Daniel couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Calder was concerned? Probably he didn’t want Daniel to flay his skin off with a scrub brush and make sex difficult.

After that, Calder left him to the tender mercies of the guards, who were gentler than Daniel would have expected. One of them still bore a black eye from their earlier struggle, but they unchained him and helped him out of the bed, apparently aware that he would be stiff and that movement would be painful.

They took him out of the room and through the hallways of the apartment. An older man walked past them at one point, and though Daniel flushed with abject humiliation at being seen this way, the man ignored him completely. Evidently one didn’t notice a naked slave, or one with his master’s marks all over him.

The bathing chamber was a utilitarian room with a very large, sunken tub that was already full of gently steaming water. There was a row of three showers along the wall to his left for actual cleaning, so the bath must be for soaking. An hour.

Daniel walked into one of the shower stalls. There were no doors to them. Nudity must not be a big deal here regardless of rank, unless this room was for slaves only. He sluiced himself off, grateful to find that the showerhead was telephone-style. He cleaned himself the best he could, especially given that he had an audience. One of the guards had remained outside to guarantee no one else came in, the other had come in with him. No doubt he was making sure that his employer’s latest acquisition didn’t see fit to off himself in the tub.

The soap was gentle and smelled of some scent Daniel couldn’t quite place. He wondered if it was a local bloom. When he felt clean, he walked over to the tub and lowered himself into the hot water. It soothed his aches and pains, but it also made him sleepy, a state he wasn’t comfortable with. He got out before he was really ready to and walked over to a mirror.

Above his left nipple, on his lower abdomen, on his shoulder, on his ribs, all over, red marks that were already beginning to ache. They’d turn purple by tomorrow if past experience was anything to judge by. His neck was rubbed raw in a couple of places. He’d noticed the sting when he went under the hot water and now looked to see how bad they were.

He wrapped himself in a towel and made for the door, but the guard shook his head. Daniel thought about trying to hang onto it, but he didn’t have the energy. He dropped it on the floor and followed the guard out of the room.

His passage through the apartment seemed to have drawn attention, or maybe he was paranoid. People just kept passing by, not looking at him in a way that made him feel very conspicuous. He wanted to ask them if they were impressed by their master’s newest choice for a ‘personal servant,’ but it wouldn’t be fair. He had no idea how many of them were in the same boat with a different job.

His room was the same, but now there were covers on the bed. Daniel walked over, lay down and, contrary to his expectations, he fell asleep almost instantly.


	11. Chapter 11

As Calder came towards the camera, Jack tried to keep his eyes on Daniel. Calder had finally removed the collar and the bolster, and Daniel lay flat on his back, looking exhausted. Jack hoped Calder was done with him, at least for the time being. He didn’t dare hope for more.

His view was abruptly blocked by a hairy chest. Calder was surprisingly hairy under his clothes, a fact that Jack could have lived a long time without learning. Certainly a close up was not at all inviting. Then the image suddenly went dark, leaving Jack staring at a blank screen, filled with horror and aching loss. Horrible as it had been to watch Calder assaulting his friend, not knowing what might be happening now was worse by far.

Minutes passed at an agonizing pace, stretching subjectively into hours. Jack’s control snapped. He started wrenching at the cuffs and, quite by accident, broke them loose of the bracket. He’d been attempting to pull his wrists out, but this would have to do. Praying that the direct feed to his bedroom had persuaded Calder not to have this room monitored, Jack got up from the chair and started trying to bring his arms around front. Within minutes, he realized it was fruitless. The cuffs had absolutely no leeway. American prison guards and law enforcement types would never have been permitted to use this design to bind a prisoner’s arms behind his back. On the other hand, the fact that, as he writhed trying to accomplish the impossible, no one came in to interrupt his efforts gave him hope that he wasn’t being watched.

Of course, there could be a group of those red-clad guards watching his antics with amusement and betting on how long it would take him to give up. Jack hoped not, because he was about to do would do doubt bring them running, weapons and fists ready.

Scowling with concentration, Jack psyched himself up, then twisted his arms until, with a wet pop, his left shoulder joint dislocated. Keeping his teeth shut tightly on the cry of pain, he slowly guided his arms under his butt and around the ends of his legs until they rested in his lap. There he sat for several seconds, regrouping, but he didn’t dare wait too long. Big men with guns could show up at any second. Finally, he turned sideways and, with a sharp intake of breath, forced the joint back into place. With that done, he leaned against the wall, breathing and letting the pain subside.

Before too long, though, he made himself stand up and went to lean against the wall by the door. By now he was reasonably certain that there was no surveillance.

What was happening to Daniel? Had Calder left him alone, still tied to the bed, while he headed off to do something else? Was he raping him again? Jack’s anger surged, sending his adrenaline levels up, damping down the pain.

Just in time, too. The door began to open, and those adrenaline levels, already high, skyrocketed. Feeling neither fear nor pain, Jack brought his arms down solidly on the head of the first man through the door. The man, a guard, of course, dropped like a stone. Jack got a very brief glimpse of Calder’s face, white with shock or anger, or maybe both. The one of the guards proved that he knew his job by shoving Calder out of the way and charging in, his fellows close behind him. The fight was short, ugly and predictable. Jack wound up on his back, being held down firmly while they undid the cuffs in front. Then they flipped him over and reattached them behind.

Calder’s voice had just a hint of hysteria in it. “Who released him? Who changed his bindings?”

“No one, Administrator!” The guard sounded rather panicked. “No one has entered this room since you left it.”

“Someone must have!” Calder thundered. “He couldn’t do it on his own, surely!”

“The attachment’s broken!” someone said from beside the chair. “He broke it.”

“That doesn’t explain how the cuffs wound up in front. Get him on his feet!” They dragged him upright. Calder stood as far off as the room permitted him to. Jack glowered at him. “What happened? How did you wind up in . . . in this position?”

Jack smiled. “Magic.”

Calder’s eyes narrowed. “Explain now!” he ordered. Jack just looked at him. “Or do you really want to see Daniel again that badly? I can assure you, it would not be nearly so pleasant this time.” Jack froze, the sincerity in Calder’s eyes was plain to read. He swallowed. Calder smiled contemptuously. “Now, tell me,” he said.

Jack raised his chin. “I dislocated my shoulder which gave me enough freedom to pull myself through my arms.”

Calder stared at him. “That’s not possible,” he said, but he didn’t sound altogether convinced.

“Oh, it’s possible, all right, and you should be glad you weren’t first through that door or you’d be dead now.”

Calder’s eyes snapped, but after a moment he smiled malevolently. “Instead, I’m the owner of the best untapped breeding stock on the planet.”

Any semblance of self-restraint went out the window. Breaking loose from the guards, he launched himself at Calder, prepared to kill him by whatever means he could, even if he had to tear the bastard’s throat out with his teeth.

Four guards tackled him to the ground before he could reach Calder, but he struggled against them despite the odds.

“Get him out of here, and tell Brenna to contact me the moment he’s under. I want to speak to her about his stamp.”

They dragged Jack out of the room, kicking and fighting, biting and struggling all the way down the hall. They wrestled him onto one of the medical beds and strapped him down. He lay panting and glaring at all and sundry while a woman approached with a needle. She stuck the syringe in with one sharp jab and sent the contents home.

His heart was beating rapidly, pumping the blood through his system at a fast pace, which meant the drug would hit him all the sooner. He closed his eyes and focused on Daniel. He would not forget. If such a thing was possible, he would leave himself with an imperative to find Daniel.

* * *

Brenna gazed down at the man uncertainly. He was so much older than the people they sent down to them in the usual way of things. People this old didn’t get sent to work in her plant. The graying of his hair, the lines on his face . . .

His body was lean and strong, though. She’d observed a number of old scars as the techs had changed him into his work clothes. She hoped he’d last. She always hated it when one of these types of workers died in the first weeks of arriving. It made her feel she’d failed somehow. They came to her so blank, and she tried hard to give them what they needed to survive, but it didn’t always work.

She was also disturbed the amount of personal interest Administrator Calder seemed to have in these particular condemned. Ordinarily they were sent with a file concerning their lives so that suitable personas could be developed for them, and nothing more came from the surface. Certainly, the administrator of the city didn’t monitor their progress.

The door opened and Administrator Calder entered the room. He looked with satisfaction at the recumbent figure on the exam bed, then his brows knit. “Why is he not restrained?”

She blinked. “He is unconscious, Administrator.” Unaccountably, the administrator didn’t seem to be reassured by that. “Do you want me to do up the straps?” she asked.

“Of course not!” he snapped and she flinched. “Have you worked out a personality for him?”

“I have.” She handed him the file. He took it with the tips of his fingers and looked at it, lips pursed with the disgust he always exhibited when forced to touch something from her hands.

After several moments, he looked up and handed the file back to her. “Very good, but it needs something more. He’s fixated on something, and as I understand it, strong fixations can limit adjustment.”

Brenna nodded. “They can, unless we find something suitable to substitute, but it needs to be something similar. What is his fixation?”

The administrator pursed his lips. “A love interest,” he said. “A powerful attachment.”

Her brows raised. “That can be hard to counteract. Do we know who it’s to?”

Administrator Calder nodded. “I do. So, you redirect fixations, but the new object has to be something similar?”

“Yes, Administrator.”

He contemplated this silently for a moment, then nodded decisively. “Then the woman of his party. Substitute her.”

Brenna blinked in surprise. “She does not have a similar stamp,” she said.

The administrator shrugged. “Does it matter?”

Very carefully picking her words, she said, “Do you want the feelings to be mutual?”

“I don’t care,” he replied, and she nodded slowly. It could make for some very unpleasant scenes, but there was no reason aside from that not to do it.

“Then, no, Administrator, it doesn’t matter.”

“Good. Do it.” Administrator Calder gazed for a long moment at the unconscious man, unconcealed hostility radiating from him. “How long do you suppose he’ll last down there?”

Brenna licked her lips nervously “I don’t know, Administrator, it’s difficult to say. He’s strong and healthy.”

“It should be interesting to see.” Administrator Calder gave her a pleasant smile. “Keep me posted on their progress if you would.”

“Of course, Administrator,” she said, and he left. She looked down at the file in her hands. Making the changes that the administrator had requested would require some programming. She sat down began to work on the problem.

When it was solved, she gave it to the techs who input it in the machine and hooked the man up. He would be called Jonah henceforward, so she should start thinking of him by his new name. She tried never to think of people like Jonah by their old names. It was unwise and could lead to problems.

While the techs did their jobs, Brenna tried to make sense of what was happening. Surely if offworld visitors did something offensive, it would make more sense to send them home than to punish them here. And the level of animosity the administrator was showing towards Jonah in particular seemed very out of place. Where had he been all those hours after Thera and Tor had been brought to her? What had been done to him? He’d clearly been in a fight, he had bruises and abrasions to demonstrate it. What was being done with the other outsider?

These were all questions bubbling in her mind, but which she had no right to ask. The administrator must have good reasons for what he was doing. That Brenna couldn’t see them was meaningless. He was the administrator and she was just a worker. Unfortunately, those simple facts didn’t stop her mind from turning the questions over and over.

She got up and went to do some of her desk work while the process took place. It could take hours with some people, less with others. Thera had taken a while, but Tor had been very resistant. It was unpredictable

They came and got her about four hours later, and she arrived to find him still unconscious. She nodded to the tech who gave him a stimulant to counteract the sedative. His eyes opened almost immediately, and he sat up like a shot. “Where am I?” he demanded.

She stepped back, startled by the sudden movement. “You’re at the power plant. You’ve been transferred from the mines.”

“Where’s Thera?” he asked urgently.

“She’s at work, Jonah, but she’s –”

“I have to see her,” he said. Brenna blinked in surprise. People never came out of the stamping with urgency. They were always vague and undirected. “Please, take me to her.”

“In a minute. She’s fine, though. She got a little sick on the journey from the mines, but she’s fine.”

Jonah drank that information in and nodded. He turned to face her. “What are we waiting for?”

“We need to make sure you’re all right. You’ve gotten some injuries. The transport you were on had a small accident and you were hurt.”

“I feel fit as a fiddle,” he said. Brenna tried to conceal her complete lack of understanding of the phrase, but he looked confused by his own words. It wasn’t uncommon. In some cases, a few neural pathways remained active, particularly those connected with repetitive activities. He began to look as if he were trying to reach for some memory, some connection, so she stepped in quickly.

“It’s an expression, Jonah. You had a head injury, so don’t worry too much if things seem a little odd for a while. It will pass.”

His confused look cleared instantly, and he nodded. “Please, I need to see Thera. Can we either get to the medical thing or skip it?”

She nodded to the techs who did a quick check now that he was conscious to make certain there were no problems that they couldn’t recognize while he was out. There proved to be nothing more serious than a bit of soreness around the left shoulder, so she told him to be careful of it.

“Sure,” he said. “Now can we go see Thera?”

“Of course,” Brenna said. She was beginning to wonder if they’d done too good a job on his fixation. She took him down the stairs and across the floor of the plant, ignoring the curious looks as they passed people. Thera was working with Kegan, who seemed a little annoyed, but Kegan was always annoyed by something. Brenna put a hand on Jonah’s arm to keep him where he was, then stepped forward. “Thera?” The woman looked up, eyes wide with interest. “You remember Jonah, from the mines?”

This was the moment when it would either come together or fall through. Thera looked at Jonah for several seconds and then said, “Yes, yes I do.” She took a couple of steps towards him. “Yes, I remember you.”

Jonah nodded seriously. “They said your trip was bad. You okay?”

“I am,” she said, nodding and smiling. “I’m fine.” Kegan rolled her eyes, and Brenna raised an admonitory eyebrow at her.

“All right, Jonah, now you’ve seen her. Can I put you with your section now?”

He nodded and went with her. She returned to the landing outside her apartment and watched them work. Tor was with those shoveling the ore into the furnace, Thera was learning how to check and calibrate the boiler pressure and Jonah, glancing over his shoulder periodically to see that Thera was still where she’d been when he last saw her, was learning how to repair the valves that were used to regulate the flow of water and steam. It was the least physically demanding job she could think of for him. She saw others of the workers looking at him curiously. An older man was an anomaly here.

They were fitting in, they would survive, or so she hoped. Sighing, she returned to her desk and stood looking down at the surface. Three new files for her drawer. Three new bodies for her workforce. She picked up the files and walked to the cabinet. Opening the drawer, she tucked them into their places. She wished she understood the crime they were accused of.

Shaking her head, she walked over and picked up the list of people who were up for routine medical examination. Four times a year, each worker was examined for health, both mental and physical. Going back to the drawer, she pulled the files on each of the twelve names then returned to her desk.

Dolmen. He was working well, no problems, no anti-social behavior. She marked him as not needing an update.

Tovert. The same.

Marla. No problems.

Clavens. Brenna sighed. Clavens had been complaining about the work he was assigned, claiming that other people were getting favored treatment. She had let it pass last quarter, he’d just been transferred from one position to another, and she hoped that he would settle in. Instead, things had only grown worse. It couldn’t be permitted to go on, or friction would increase. She marked him for a simple stamp, to help him return to a more accepting state.

Once, a supervisor had let things like that go for too long down here, and there had been a riot. Brenna remembered it, she had been very young, not more than fifteen or sixteen, in her first placement. Nine people died in the fighting, thirteen were killed by the guards who came in to put down the riot, and the people from above had come down and spoken to the workers who were left. After that, everyone had been restamped. Everyone but Brenna and an older woman who was made the new supervisor. Brenna had become her assistant. Administrator Jervis had seen something in her, she supposed, some strength. When Alda had died, Brenna had been promoted to supervisor. She never wanted to see another riot. It had taken years to repair all the damage that had been done, longer to regain the skills that were lost in the mass stampings, and Brenna had lost everyone she was close to in the fighting, and in the personality changes that followed the stamps.

Pursing her lips, she placed Clavens’ file on the stack with the others and turned to the next file.


	12. Chapter 12

Daniel awoke to the sound of chimes. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times, and remembered where he was. He sat up and wrapped the sheet he was lying under around his body. He looked down and saw the bruise on his chest, a dark irregular blot with the marks of Calder’s teeth surrounding it. He stood up and opened the facilities. When he was done, he walked over to the window and looked out. People were moving about below, and he wondered how many of them were ‘workers.’ His mind was irresistibly drawn to the examples of ancient Rome and Greece.

The American impression of slavery was irrevocably entwined with the black African slaves in the old south and the Caribbean, which was misleading. In the old south, it wasn’t difficult to identify who was a slave and who was not. You might be mistaken in thinking that a black person was a slave, but you knew for certain that no white people were. However, throughout most of history, slaves were indistinguishable from free people. Looking at two Roman men below the aristocratic ranks, a viewer wouldn’t be able to tell the slave from the free man. Better clothes weren’t a good indicator, a wealthy family might dress their slaves very well.

It was quite likely the same here. For all Daniel knew, the pages who had watched over them so attentively were slaves. Or ‘workers.’ Whatever.

His stomach rumbled, but he wasn’t interested in calling attention to himself. He hoped Jack, Sam and Teal’c were all right. The situation they were in was much worse. That plant looked damned dangerous, and none of them knew who they were, assuming that Calder had told the truth. Much as he didn’t want to believe it, Daniel suspected that he had. It made sense, and Daniel could see how it was seductive to think of it as perfectly okay. The people down below didn’t know what they were missing, so they wouldn’t miss it.

The door opened behind him and he turned, swallowing uncomfortably. A young man walked in with a tray and put it on the bed. “Breakfast. Knock when you’re done. Administrator Calder wants you taken for examination.”

Before Daniel could speak, the young man withdrew. Daniel looked down at the food. A slice of succulent yellow melon, a muffin with fresh butter, and a glass of milk. He walked over and sat down, keeping the sheet around himself. Sam, Jack and Teal’c were undoubtedly eating that nasty white mush with the flat bread at that very moment. He wondered what it tasted like, and if their taste buds would tell them they’d eaten better before, even if they couldn’t remember it.

His stomach was rumbling, but there was something holding him back. It seemed somehow disloyal to eat this while he knew his friends were eating crap.

Teal’c and Jack would make short shrift of that argument, and Sam would just look at him like he was nuts. He himself wouldn’t expect any of the three of them to refuse good food because they knew he was eating poorly. Still . . .

He picked up the muffin and started eating. When he finished, he knocked on the door and the young man opened it again. Taking the tray, he handed Daniel some fabric. “Get dressed. The guards will come in fifteen minutes.”

Daniel shook the clothes out. A pair of briefs, a pair of pants and a v-necked sleeveless shirt. He pulled them on. About half of the hickey on Daniel’s chest was visible, and the one on his arm was completely out in the open. He felt horribly exposed, but he was getting out of this room. He might have an opportunity to break away and get to the gate. If he could just . . . he didn’t have his GDO, he didn’t have any form of radio. He swallowed. He could go to the Land of Light. He was reasonably current on his antihistamines.

The door opened and the guards came in. Daniel stood up uneasily. These were the same man who had delivered him to Calder’s bed twice yesterday, and removed him twice. They were ordinary looking men. “Do you have names?”

They stared at him, apparently startled by the question. The one on the left, a short, stocky man with dark hair, green eyes, one of which was turning a startling shade of purple, said, “I am Mattias.” He gestured towards his companion, a wiry blond man with blond hair. “This is Joram.”

“Daniel,” he replied, nodding.

They exchanged puzzled looks, then Mattias stepped forward, holding out a pair of handcuffs that Daniel hadn’t noticed. “Please hold your hands out,” he said, looking mildly embarrassed. Daniel mentally congratulated himself for making himself more a person in one man’s eyes. He also put his hands out. What was the word Aris Boch had used? Choiceless.

They led him out through the halls of the apartment to what was clearly a main entrance. On the other side of the door, it looked more like the public areas of the administration building, but nowhere he recognized. They guided him to an elevator where Daniel looked covertly at the panel that showed the levels.

This was a higher floor than they’d visited on their tour, if Daniel was reading the numerals right. He was pretty sure he was, and he didn’t see anything lower than about thirty on this elevator’s pad. “Does this elevator only cover the top part of the building?”

“Yes,” Joram said, and Mattias cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably. Joram blinked and then flushed. Daniel kept his grimace to himself. That question was too direct, too soon. They went down three levels and emerged on another hallway. This one had a great many more people, and Daniel felt rooted to the spot as he recognized some of them as people he’d spoken to, people who had conversed with him at dinner. Mattias and Joram started forward, their hands under his arms, but he balked.

They paused and Mattias said, “You have to come with us.”

Daniel swallowed convulsively and, steeling himself, he walked forward. He didn’t know whether to be thankful or humiliated that the people who knew him totally failed to acknowledge his presence. They turned a corner and went in through a door. Daniel glanced at the words above the doorway, but he couldn’t quite register what they said before they were through it. The room they entered resembled a waiting room.

“Sit down,” Mattias said.

Daniel did so, looking around nervously. It was a large narrow room with chairs down the side walls and a desk at one end with a door behind it. The floor was the same metallic silver that seemed to be so common here. A narrow woven rug ran down between the chairs with key patterns in dark green and blue. The walls were painted with geometric patterns in pale green and blue. The light was soft and diffused, directed upwards against a white ceiling.

A woman sat behind the desk. She looked up and nodded. The guards seemed to know what she meant, because they guided him to a chair against the left wall. There were other people waiting, a man and a woman, together. Daniel wondered what they were waiting for.

The woman at the desk spoke. “Jemma.” The couple got up and went through the door at the end.

“What kind of examination is this?” Daniel asked quietly.

“Medical,” Mattias said.

Daniel blinked. He thought he’d already had a medical exam. He sat back in the chair and tried to figure out what to do. He had a guard on either side of him, and he wasn’t absolutely certain that the door would open for him. Probably.

“Is this a public facility?” he asked.

“It is,” Mattias said. “But it will be shut down for a short time while we’re here.”

Daniel looked down at his hands. “What about Jemma?” he asked, a slight edge to his tone.

“They will be rescheduled,” Mattias replied. “Administrator Calder has priority.”

“Goodie.” Daniel bit his lip. It was still tender from the assault the day before, so he stopped. He took a deep breath and tried to control his reactions. “You know, in rooms like this back home, they provide reading material.” Neither man responded, and Daniel felt his anxiety rising.

The door opened again and the woman said, “We’re ready for you now.”

“I’m not ready for you,” Daniel muttered.

Mattias gave him a funny look, and they pulled him to his feet and in through the door. On the other side there was a hallway, and they were gestured into a room that looked like an upscale version of the room he’d been examined in before. The one where they’d knocked him out.

The doctor was an older man who lowered the bed to the horizontal position and said, “Hop up if you would, Daniel.”

“Do I have a choice?” Daniel asked.

“Not really,” the doctor said in the same friendly voice. “But it would be easier on all of us if you’d simply cooperate.”

“Well, it would certainly be easier on you,” Daniel replied. The doctor pursed his lips and looked towards Mattias, but Daniel shook his head. “No, no, I’ll . . .” He walked over to the bed and looked at it. It was at about his waist level. “This could be kind of challenging,” he said, turning around and gesturing with his bound wrists. Mattias and Joram solved the problem for him by lifting him up. He glared at them and then looked down at his hands.

“Please hold out your arm,” the doctor said. Daniel looked up at him and then down at the cuffs. The doctor took in his meaning immediately. “Does he really need those?”

“He’s not as harmless as he looks,” Joram said, and Daniel looked at him irritably. “I mean, he . . . he needs to remain under control.”

“There are two of you,” the doctor said. “And, under Administrator Calder’s orders, we have locked both exit doors. He can’t get out, so surely the cuffs can be dispensed with.”

Mattias nodded and stepped forward to unlock them, and Daniel rubbed his wrists, mentally cursing Calder for being so damnably perceptive. Truth be told, he wasn’t likely to try to escape with two guards on either side of the door. He wasn’t Teal’c. He didn’t have that level of fighting skill, just enough to get him out of trouble in situations where he had back up. Here, he had no back up.

“Now, hold out your arm.” There wasn’t much purpose in fighting this either. If he didn’t do it, they could just make him. The doctor turned it so he had easy access to a vein and tied a tourniquet around Daniel’s upper arm. Daniel recognized the lead up to phlebotomy, so he wasn’t surprised when the doctor pulled out a syringe and several vials.

“What’s your name?” Daniel asked abruptly, before the man stuck a needle in him. He hated not knowing people’s names.

The doctor paused and looked at him for a moment, clearly startled. Daniel wondered if workers weren’t supposed to ask people for names or what. “I’m Taethin. I need to take some blood.”

“I got that, but I wasn’t real thrilled about being poked with a needle by a complete stranger.”

Taethin blinked at him. “I see,” he said. “Please hold still.”

Daniel grit his teeth and let the man take his blood. He filled four vials, withdrew the needle and then pressed a piece of fabric against the puncture. Daniel took over the pressure and the doctor began to label the vials. After several moments, he returned to Daniel and took the cloth. “Very good.” He proceeded through some of the standard tests, reflexes, blood pressure, heart rate. Daniel was getting very bored. “If you just opened the gate, you could ask Dr. Fraiser for my records. They’re very comprehensive, and if this is so completely legal, there shouldn’t be a problem with that, right?”

“I really couldn’t say,” Taethin said. “Please look at the chart on the wall behind me.”

“Why? I can’t read anything below the fourth row without my glasses. Is that what you’re looking for?”

“Thank you,” Taethin said, sounding annoyed. “That will be fine.” He made a mark on his chart. “Now, please stand up and disrobe.”

“I’d really rather not,” Daniel said.

“I grasp that,” Taethin said. “Do it anyway.”

“For informational purposes, what would happen if I said no?”

“I would send for my technicians, the guards would hold you and your clothing would be removed.” Taethin gazed levelly at him. “I suspect it would be better for your comfort if you were to cooperate.”

Daniel considered his options, then jumped down from the bed and started taking off his shirt. Then he took off the pants and stopped, hoping that stripping to the underwear would be sufficient. Taethin just waited, arms crossed, so Daniel, flushing with humiliation, removed the briefs as well. “So, tell me, where would one report a rape around here?” he asked after a moment, his voice sharp. Taethin stared at him for a moment without speaking, seeming at a loss to answer the question. “You do understand the concept of rape, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Taethin said. “The guards take care of such things, but we have not had a rape in over fifty years.”

“The guards.” Daniel glanced at Mattias and Joram. “Those guards?”

“Yes.” Taethin sat on a stool and proceeded to do the very intimate check for hernias.

Daniel grimaced with discomfort and glared at the two armed men by the door. “Well, since they’re the ones who tied me down for it, I’m less than totally inclined to report it to them.”

Taethin wrote on the chart and then looked up at Daniel. “You weren’t raped.”

Daniel ground his teeth, then said, “Let’s see, someone had sex with me against my will, using a combination of force and drugs to get his way. Oddly enough that sounds like rape to me.”

“You’re a worker. Administrator Calder has the right to do as he pleases with you.”

“I’m a foreign national,” Daniel said. “Detained illegally and without due process of law. My government is being lied to about my whereabouts, and my friends have been . . .” Daniel shook his head. “I don’t even know if they can come back from what’s been done to them.”

“You were found guilty of subversion by the Council of Justice, therefore you are a criminal, and may be disposed of at the Council’s pleasure.”

Daniel shuddered at the word ‘pleasure,’ but he wasn’t done. “What did we ‘subvert’?” Daniel demanded. “And this is the first I’ve heard of a trial, much less a conviction. One minute I’m touring a garden, the next minute we’re workers.”

“The Council does not need your presence to convict.”

“Yes, but don’t you think it would have been polite to tell me I was convicted, and of what, before tying me to a bed and . . .” Daniel looked down at the floor. Then he looked up again and met Taethin’s eyes. “We didn’t do anything,” he said earnestly. “We’re foreigners who came here looking to trade with you, to help you better your lives, but Administrator Calder doesn’t care about that.” Taethin’s eyes were growing troubled. “He just wants –” Daniel broke off.

“You must have done something,” Taethin said, sounding as if he were trying to convince himself. Mattias, over by the door, was looking uncertain as well, but Joram was glaring at Daniel.

“We didn’t take any action that would have altered life on this planet,” Daniel said with absolute truth. “Has it occurred to you that maybe Administrator Calder arranged to have us declared subversive so he could make us workers?”

Taethin shook his head. “You were convicted by a duly constituted Council of Justice. It’s not my place to question the council’s decision. Please get back on the table. I need to carry out a rectal exam.”

“Fine!” Daniel climbed up and let the doctor get him into position. Before he began the exam, though, Daniel said, “Be warned, it’s likely to hurt. Calder was none too gentle with me last night.”

“There is quite a lot of surface bruising,” Taethin said.

“That isn’t the sort of thing he’s here for,” Joram said. “You, Daniel, keep quiet as is your place.”

Daniel closed his eyes as Taethin began his examination. He cleared his throat and kept talking, trying in part to avoid thinking about what was going on. “Among other things, I am a cultural anthropologist. It’s my job to talk to people and get to know them.”

“Your place is to do as you’re told,” Joram said. “You’re a worker now, whatever you may have been before.” Daniel grimaced and started to speak. Joram forestalled him. “This will all have to be reported to Administrator Calder. I doubt very much that he will be pleased.”

Daniel didn’t say anything in response, and after a moment, Taethin said, “You’re right, there is no tearing.” He moved away then and took of his gloves. “That’s all. Please resume your clothing.”

Daniel got off the table and pulled the clothes back on. Mattias came forward with the cuffs and Daniel allowed himself to be restrained again. They took him out of the office and back to Calder’s apartment where put him in his room. “Remove the clothes,” Joram said.

Daniel turned around and glared at him. “No,” he replied. Joram entered the room followed by Mattias. The outcome was a foregone conclusion, but at least he gave them a few bruises to think about later.

He wondered what they were going to do with the blood samples. They were up to the level of analyzing DNA, and they certainly had enough samples for that now. He thumped back down on the bed, wishing he were home. The sheet had been replaced, so Daniel wrapped it around himself. He sat up against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. Resting his chin on his knees, he tried to figure out how he could possibly get out.


	13. Chapter 13

_Thera was in front of him, not far in front of him, but never close enough to touch. Jonah followed her, calling for her, but the name he used wasn’t Thera. Even though he kept calling it aloud, he couldn’t quite grasp it long enough to register the sounds._

_She turned to look at him over her shoulder, blue eyes flashing with amusement, but she didn’t stop. In fact, her pace picked up. He chased after her, watching that tight rear end in her dark green pants. Part of his mind informed him that green was the wrong color, but he paid it no heed. It wasn’t the pants he was interested in._

_The world they were running through was strange and variable. Concrete walls like he’d seen all his life, odd wooden structures that seemed both familiar and out of place, sunlight, starlight, things he’d never seen before, but his imagination filled them in so beautifully. It was then that he realized he was dreaming._

_Thera was drawing away, but he wasn’t going to allow that. He put on a burst of speed and caught her, throwing them both to the ground where they rolled on grass. She started laughing and he discovered suddenly that they were both naked. She pressed against him, kissing him, her breasts pressed against the bare skin of his chest, then she threw double handfuls of grass into his face and ran away before he managed to get up. He caught her again, by one slim ankle, and brought her gently down, and they snuggled close in the grass, her back pressed against his chest. She nuzzled his neck and kissed his neck, and he looked down at her with adoration, only to find that she had somehow changed._

_The eyes were still blue, but the hair had grown shorter and darker, and the body shape had changed drastically. The lush breasts were replaced by solid, flat pectoral muscles and . . . he bent and kissed the upturned lips, reached out and fondled the hardening cock. He loved . . . he loved . . . the name wouldn’t come. There was no name, just a willing man who gave himself to him utterly._

A thump nearby brought him out of the dream just at the climax of lovemaking, and Jonah sat up feeling irritable. He looked immediately for Thera. She was sleeping nearby, curled up on her side, clutching her blanket. Her face was smudged and dirty, but she was utterly beautiful. He knew he should get up, get in line for breakfast, but he didn’t want to move while she was still asleep. Watching her sleep made him feel protective and like all was right with the world.

Why had his dream taken such an unexpected turn? Who was the man? Jonah didn’t think he’d ever met him before. He gazed at Thera. She was so beautiful. What could ever make her look at him the way she had in that dream?

The horn blew and her eyes flipped open. Jack gazed into her blue eyes and smiled. She smiled back and got up. “Good morning, Jonah,” she said.

“Good morning.”

His eyes followed her throughout the day. Trevan kept grabbing his shoulder and telling him to pay attention to what he was doing, but Jonah couldn’t stop looking for her. He knew, he _knew_ he had to keep an eye on her. He had to know she was okay.

* * *

Brenna kept a quiet eye on Jonah and Thera, aware that the stamp she’d given him could all too easily cause problems, but Administrator Calder had been right. With as powerful as his reaction had been to the stamp, which had only encouraged an attraction to Thera, if a substitute hadn’t been put in place of his previous love, the stamp would never have taken.

She wondered who he was in love with, and what thinking he was dead was doing to her back on their planet.

Unwilling to continue that line of thought, she turned her mind to more productive contemplation.

* * *

Daniel could only sit still with nothing to do for so long before he started to get stir crazy. Jack had always teased him about his restlessness, but he couldn’t help it. He had to be doing something. The same young man brought lunch, but Daniel didn’t even bother to ask him his name. He just stared at the food and wondered what that gruel stuff tasted like.

He took the food off the tray and picked it up. It had a little bit of weight to it, and might do as a weapon. The man wouldn’t be expecting attack, probably, and Daniel doubted he was trained to fight. Daniel waited until he heard the door start to open, then grabbed up the tray and slammed it down on his head. The man stared at him stupidly for a moment, then fell to the floor. Daniel dodged out through the door as quick as he could, and wondered where he should go to find something to cover his nakedness.

He crept along the corridors, hoping against hope to find a laundry. He doubted he’d get far through the main halls of the administration building wearing nothing but a sheet. Most of the doors were closed, but he came to one that wasn’t. It appeared to be a bedroom for several people, and there were dressers. No one was inside, so Daniel ducked in and started opening drawers. He found some underwear that fit, and three different sizes of pants. One of them was about a foot too short for him, but both the other two were a reasonable fit. He pulled one pair on and searched out a top. With a choice between a sleeveless shirt like he’d worn earlier and a sleeved shirt with something like a crew neck, he chose the latter immediately. All his hickeys would be covered by that.

Dressed, he peered around the hallway and, seeing no one, started towards what he thought of as the front door. The apartment seemed largely empty, which surprised him, but he didn’t question his good fortune. He just kept moving towards the door. Once in the open, he’d have to figure out where the elevator that went down to the level of the museum was, or he’d have to locate some stairs. Stairs seemed like the better option. Elevators were little traps on strings.

He reached the front door without being challenged, but there he was stymied. He couldn’t figure out how to open the damned thing. There were panels on either side, but for all Daniel could tell they might be decorative. He waved his hands in front of both of them and there was no change.

As he started to move away to look for a different door, he heard this one begin to open. He hid around the corner, hoping to maybe sneak out after whoever was entering had come in and before the door closed.

“What do you mean he’s missing!” Calder growled, and Daniel shrank back. “How could he possibly get away?”

“We don’t know, Administrator!” It was the voice of Mattias. “Everyone was in the kitchens, eating lunch, and –”

“No one was watching his door?” Calder demanded. “Did I not make myself clear? He is not to be left without a guard.”

“He was locked in. We didn’t think he –”

“You didn’t think!” Calder snarled. Daniel drew back as the footsteps approached. He had tucked himself into a niche, and they went right past without look. “I should put all of you on half rations for a month. I can’t . . .”

His voice trailed off as they went past, and Daniel dodged out of hiding towards the door. He slipped through it with centimeters to spare and stopped dead on the other side. Left led to the elevator that didn’t go all the way down, but Daniel wasn’t certain if there were any elevators that went all the way down. He’d been in buildings where the elevators were staggered back on Earth, and there was no reason this might not be the same.

There were often stairs beside elevators on Earth, to provide safe exit in case of fire. It was reasonable to suppose the same might be true here. He headed left.

Unlike the door to the apartment, the elevator opened as he approached. It must have a simple proximity mechanism. Daniel went past it and looked to see if he could find a stairwell.

“Do you need something?” Daniel turned to find a young woman behind him. “Are you all right?”

“No, I’m fine,” Daniel said. “I’m good.” He looked at the elevator, which was still open. He walked inside and smiled at the woman as the doors shut behind him. He looked at the panel. He pressed a button two up from his current level. They wouldn’t expect him to go up.

He had no idea what to expect when the doors opened, though, so he pressed himself against the wall beside the door and peered out around the edge. It looked like a utilitarian corridor, and there were no people. Maybe storage. He pressed a button for a floor about two above the bottom and dodged out the doors. That should send the elevator to a more believable floor and send them on a wild goose chase. Unless they had some kind of monitoring system on the elevators, but maybe they wouldn’t think of that until later. He could hope.

Daniel started checking doors, looking for a stairwell or something. Admittedly, going higher made the exit via stairway a longer trek, but they might not think he’d look for those either. The third door he checked led to a set of stairs. Daniel went through immediately and peeked down the center of the column. It went very far down, but given that he was well above the thirtieth floor, that didn’t mean it went down to the bottom.

He started down the steps as quickly and quietly as he could. They were solid, so there were no echoes, which was a mercy. Their stargate was on level fourteen, and he was on level thirty-five. Twenty-one levels, and who knew how many hallways and people to get past. He tried to let himself do whatever it was Jack did that let him become aware of everything around him.

One level. Two. Three. Seven. He kept going. He heard a door open above him, but he kept going down. He had to get to the gate. He had to get away so he could tell Hammond what was happening and they could rescue the rest of SG-1. He heard footsteps above him, but he kept going down. They were behind him. They might not even be coming down because of him. Two more levels down.

A door opened below him and Daniel heard voices. “He’s still above us here!”

He got to the next landing and stopped for a second, breathing hard. Now he had someone above and someone below. It wouldn’t take long for them to figure out where he was. He looked at the wall. Level twenty-three. He still had nine levels to go, and footsteps were approaching from above and below. So, keep going down and try to avoid them? Or go out into the hall and face whatever might be out there?

“Just remember, don’t shoot him!” ordered a voice from above. That decided him. If they weren’t supposed to kill him, that put him at an advantage. He started down again, keeping towards the center of the stairway, but he looked to the side. He could jump the space between the flights, and that being the case, he might be able to get below the people who were below him.

It was odd. Chases like this in movies were always full of noise and shouting, heavy footsteps and rattling doors. The only sounds here were the occasional orders from above and acknowledgments from below.

“There you are!” Daniel looked down and saw guards a flight below. They kept coming. Daniel slowed down and drew closer to the other edge. “Stop,” said the man in the lead. “Stay where you are. You can’t escape.”

Daniel stopped and put a hand on the railing, then waited for them to get onto the landing. Once they were clear of the next flight down, he vaulted over the railing and landed, knees bent, on the next flight down. Then he started running, no holds barred, down the stairs, grabbing the railings to help him swing around the landings.

His best hope of escape had lain in going undetected, and that hope was gone now. At this point he could only hope to barrel through. There were two major problems. They had to know he was heading for the gate, so level fourteen was going to be heavily guarded, and it took time to dial the gate. He wasn’t sure what the point was in continuing to try, but he was not giving up. Better to go down trying than to give up when there might still be a chance.

Level sixteen. He had to think. Level fourteen would be guarded. He would come out the door into the arms of a whole mass of security guards. Maybe it would be better to go to ground and find someplace to hide. Of course, while he was at large, they were never going to stop guarding that level closely, and he had no allies, no one to offer him help.

Level fifteen. The doors below him opened, trapping him between fourteen and fifteen. He stopped and gauged his chance of making it down two levels. He hand his hand on the railing and was preparing to jump when a hand came down hard on his shoulder.

He ducked and spun, punching for the man’s groin. Arms grabbed him from behind, and though he kicked and hit, he went down in the end. He lay panting, the steps pressing painfully into his body. They bound his wrists behind him and got him to his feet, forcing him down the stairs to the fourteenth level. When they went through the door, Daniel saw just what he’d been up against if he’d made it that far. There were eight men waiting. He tried to pull his arms free of the guards holding him, but they just tightened their grip.

People were gathered behind the soldiers, staring, and Daniel thought he glimpsed something like a camera. Great, so he was going to make the eleven o’clock news. Just what he needed. At least the damned hickeys were hidden. The guards dragged him to the elevator, and Daniel could hear people talking behind him.

“He’s one of the strangers!”

“What was he doing?”

The elevator doors slid shut and Daniel closed his eyes. Calder was not going to be happy. They took him to his room, roughly stripped the clothes from him and left him there. Daniel took several deep breaths and then punched the wall. He’d gotten so close, but he’d never really had a chance. If Jack had been . . .

He punched the wall again and let out a curse in Abydonian. He was helpless. He was stuck and there was nothing he could do to help his friends or himself. Daniel walked over to stand at the window, staring out and trying not to imagine what could happen to his friends in that plant down there. How long would Calder want to keep them alive? How long would he want to keep Daniel as a toy?

What was Hammond going to do? What might Hammond believe or not believe? He crossed his arms and looked out at the beautiful city. He wished that it had lived up to its promise.

After about a half hour, the door opened again. Daniel turned to see two guards standing there. He didn’t recognize them. Mattias and Joram must have gone off shift. They walked into the room and then the door shut again. Daniel waited to see what they were going to do, staying by the window.

“Please turn around and put your hands behind you.”

“Why?” Daniel asked.

“If you do not follow instructions, I am authorized to take forceful action to see that you do.”

Daniel licked his lips nervously and turned around, putting his arms behind him. They walked up and one of them fixed cuffs around his wrists. Then they led him from the room to Calder’s bedroom where Calder was waiting. His eyes were narrow and filled with a sullen anger that made Daniel’s gut twist.

“Good afternoon, Daniel,” he said, his voice low and malevolent. “Bind him face down to the bed and go.”

Daniel couldn’t help himself. When they got him to the bed, he started to try and break loose.

“The alien is likely to cause problems for the simple reason that he is alien,” Calder said, his voice full of sinister insinuations, and Daniel froze. “I didn’t realize just how alien until we had him examined.”

Daniel looked over at him. When Calder had started speaking again, the guards had paused, so he wasn’t being pulled or pushed. There was a long silence during which Calder simply gazed into Daniel’s eyes. Daniel couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“It has occurred to me,” Calder said, sauntering closer, “that it might be simpler by far to kill him now and be done with him.” Daniel blinked at him. It seemed a strange sort of segue. “I wouldn’t kill O’Neill, not now. I need him in the long term, to keep you under control, and I suspect the woman may be prove useful down below. The alien, though . . .” He walked up to Daniel and ran a finger down the side of his face. “Him I could kill.”

Daniel shook his head.

“I can’t hear you,” Calder said.

“No.” Daniel cleared his throat. “No, please don’t.”

“‘Please’?” Calder repeated, his fingers coming around to grasp Daniel’s chin in a painful grip. “Is that all your caring leads you to? ‘Please’?”

“Please, yes, please!” Daniel exclaimed. He leaned towards Calder, who was watching him with cold eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to say!” He shook his head. “Don’t kill him. I’ll . . . I’ll do . . . please just don’t kill him!”

“Then do not fight the guards, Daniel,” Calder said, releasing his chin and stepping back. Daniel took a deep breath and nodded once. “Get him on the bed and be gentle. I prefer to place the bruises myself.”

Daniel let them manhandle him onto the soft surface and lay still while they brought the cuffs out and chained him down. No collar this time, but there wasn’t much he could do spread-eagled face down on a bed. He heard the guards walk away, and then the door opened and closed. A moment later the bed shifted. A hand stroked down his back towards his butt, and Daniel shivered.

“So, did you enjoy publicly humiliating me?” Calder asked softly. “I hope you did, because you will _never_ get another chance.”

“I don’t want to be here,” Daniel said, helpless anger filling him. “I don’t want you forcing my friends to work down there. I can’t just stay here, pretending it isn’t happening.”

“I see.” Calder remained silent for several seconds. “So, can I assume that, given another opportunity, you would do the same again?” Daniel didn’t answer. “I see,” Calder said again with a tone of deeper understanding. “Well, we’ll just have to see that you aren’t given the temptation again.”

Daniel lay still under the gently stroking hand, listening to Calder’s words. He had nothing to say. There was nothing he could say.

“You’re more heavily muscled than I would have expected,” Calder said, his hand coming to rest at the curve of Daniel’s buttocks. “What do you suppose I should do with you, Daniel?”

“Let me and my friends go. We’ll never come back here and you can forget about us.”

“Ah, but I don’t want to forget about you, Daniel,” Calder said, leaning close by Daniel’s ear. “I want to keep you close by.” He bit down on the cartilage, then licked the skin behind the ear. “I want to taste every inch of your flesh, I want to make you writhe with pain and desire.”

“I don’t and won’t want you!” Daniel snarled.

“No, I suspect that’s true,” Calder replied, his voice maddeningly calm and contemplative. “But there are drugs that can cause the reaction where the emotion is lacking, and that’s almost more satisfying.” Teeth attacked his neck and Daniel suffered the placement of yet another hickey. “It places your body under my complete control,” he added, so close to Daniel that his teeth moved over Daniel’s flesh as he spoke. “You are mine.”

Daniel didn’t contradict him. It would be pointless to. Philosophical differences made no impact on the situation.

The man straddled him just below his buttocks, and Daniel could feel his erection pressing against the crack of his butt. Calder bent low over his back and one of his hands crept under Daniel’s hip and found his penis. Daniel closed his eyes and imagined what Jack would do to Calder if he knew what was happening and had the power to do something about it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help much.

Abruptly, Calder released his grip and stood up. “Now, Daniel, you know what’s coming. You know . . . or you think you do . . . what I will do next.” He placed both his hands on Daniel’s ass and spread the cheeks wide and started sucking on the skin on the inside of one of his buttocks. Daniel twitched, trying to get away, but there was nowhere to go. Calder finished giving him a hickey inside his ass and then sat up. “Now, you contemplate the unexpected.”

He got off the bed and Daniel heard fabric moving against skin. What the hell did he mean, ‘contemplate the unexpected’? Long moments passed, and Daniel began to get more and more anxious. He really didn’t want the bastard getting creative. Creativity was not necessary. Straightforward, simple rape was plenty bad enough. Clearly, though, it didn’t satisfy Calder’s perverse needs.

The sound of hands rubbing together slickly made Daniel tense. The bed shifted again and he felt Calder approach. Slippery hands pulled Daniel’s buttocks apart and a rough hand attacked his anus. A few hard strokes around the outside were followed by a vigorous piercing with what felt like a thumb. A gasp of pain escaped him, and Calder chuckled. The lubrication was swift, thorough and rough.

When Calder was done with that, he grasped Daniel’s hips and forced them up and backwards at an angle, then buried himself deeply in Daniel’s ass with a single hard thrust. Despite himself, Daniel arched and cried out in agony as the shaft stretched him wide. As Calder pulled back, Daniel realized what part of the source of the pain was. There was something on Calder’s penis, some kind of sheath or condom that had hard knobs on the outside. They must be tiny, but they felt like mountains inside Daniel’s body. The second thrust was as painful as the first and Daniel let out an involuntary groan. Apparently pleased by the effect his surprise was having, Calder began to pump slowly and regularly. Daniel’s fists were clenched on the covers of the bed and his jaw was so tightly closed that he could feel the tension in the muscles on each temple. It seemed to go on forever, and if Calder seemed to think Daniel’s reactions were insufficient, he’d shift his grip on Daniel’s hips, changing the angle ever so slightly, making the next thrust that much more excruciating.

Finally, Daniel felt the spurts of semen pulsing into him, and relief suffused him. It was over. This bout was over. The hard thing stayed inside him, though, after the erection must have gone limp. Then Calder moved away, and Daniel realized that he’d left the thing behind. It was a sheath, then, and not a condom, and solid of its own right.

Slowly, gradually, his body began to close around it, shoving it out centimeter by centimeter. It was an entirely new sort of agony. He wanted desperately to shove it out, but he knew just how painful that would be. Eventually, though, he couldn’t stand it, and he used the muscles for what they were designed for, ejecting the foul thing.

Calder laughed as the thing hit the bed and came back to kneel between his legs. He stuck a finger deep inside Daniel’s anus, causing Daniel to shudder at the casual nature of the invasion. Calder probed a bit, then pulled the finger out again. “No bleeding. I was afraid that might tear you, but I’m very glad it didn’t.”

Daniel was glad too, but he didn’t think it was for the same reason. Calder was probably just glad that he didn’t have to send his toy to a doctor to get him patched up. Bending, Calder began to gnaw his way up Daniel’s spine from the tail bone to the neck. Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to move or breathe too deeply as Calder’s body gradually covered his. The flaccid penis brushed against Daniel’s buttocks and back, but the limp nature of that member was no relief now. His tormenter was clearly more than willing to use appliances.

Calder leaned close to Daniel’s ear. “You _ever_ try to escape again, and I will make you watch while I take O’Neill the same way I just took you.” Daniel’s gut roiled, but he tried not to show how much this idea distressed him. Recent thoughts aside, Daniel didn’t think Jack had ever gone that direction in his life. Calder’s voice continued, low and insinuating. “How do you think he’d feel? I would, of course, tell him why and that you knew exactly what you were getting him into.” Daniel felt himself start to shake, and Calder nibbled on his ear. “Imagine what he’d feel . . . the man he loves, the man he’s protected, setting him up for –”

“What?!” Daniel twisted to glare into Calder’s eyes. “I thought . . . I thought he couldn’t remember anything.”

Calder smiled, which made Daniel’s gut turn over. “Oh, the stamp is reversible,” he said. “I can give his self back to him, do what I like to him, then take his mind away again.” Daniel stared at him in horror and Calder’s smile broadened. “And again . . . and again . . . and again . . . as many times as I choose to. And each time he remembers, he’ll remember everything.”

Daniel’s neck was cramping, so he lowered his head back to the bed. Reversible. It was reversible. That meant they could come back, all three of them, if they could just stay alive. A sharp pain in his ear lobe brought him back to his current position, making even mental escape impossible.

“Do you understand me?” Calder asked.

Daniel shuddered, but Calder was waiting for an answer, and he didn’t want the bastard to get impatient. “Yes, I understand.”

“Good.” He licked up the back of Daniel’s neck. “Your sweat is incredibly arousing, particularly when you’re afraid.”

“And you are a sick, perverted bastard,” Daniel said, his voice a bit unsteady.

Calder ran a hand through Daniel’s hair. “Am I?” he asked. “I hope to live up to your expectations of me.”

“Please don’t put yourself out on my account,” Daniel said.

“How considerate you are.” He began to chew on Daniel’s ear. “But I am enjoying myself.”

Daniel grimaced and closed his mouth on the banter. Calder didn’t need his help to escalate. He was doing fine on his own.

Calder heaved a sigh. “Well, that’s enough fun for now,” he said, sitting upright and drawing his hands down Daniel’s back to rest on his buttocks as he did so. His fingers tapped an irregular beat on Daniel’s skin. “I have work to do, little as I want to leave you.” Daniel could feel his muscles twitch every time one of those fingertips tapped him. “But I’m expecting more communication from your homeworld this evening. They will want to know if we have found you. Wouldn’t your General Hammond be surprised if he knew where you were right now?”

Daniel’s throat closed up. Hammond would be devastated and angry. He gulped to try and clear the emotional reaction, but it wasn’t having much effect.

“I’ll go to speak to him now, with the scent of you still fresh in my nostrils, and I’ll tell him that you’re dead and beyond recall, that the woman’s science and O’Neill’s overconfidence drove you to your doom, and it will be the truth in a way, won’t it?”

Daniel felt his chest tighten, and he fought it. He would not break down, not in front of Calder for certain.

The man pulled away from him and went into the bathroom. Within minutes he emerged and walked over to Daniel’s side. Bending, he took in a deep whiff, and Daniel wanted to lash out, to destroy him, but there was nothing he could do.

Calder walked away towards the door, which opened. Footsteps entered the room. “Take him to the bath, make sure he cleans himself, then have Mahail prepare him for this evening.”

“Yes, Administrator,” the guard said.

“I’ll see you when I get back from work, Daniel, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy whatever news I have for you.”

With that he left, and the guards unchained Daniel. He maintained his control until he was under the flow of water in the shower. Then he let his tears flow where they could not be seen.

Right now Calder was talking to Hammond. Right now, Hammond knew there was something very wrong, but how wrong . . . how wrong it was, that kindly man couldn’t even imagine.


	14. Chapter 14

Brenna walked through the plant, nodding at people who looked up from their tasks as she passed. She made irregular trips through the facility, making sure everyone was busy, that things were getting done, that people were content and relatively comfortable. In the ordinary course of things, that was the job of the foremen, but she found it paid to make her own assessments, to keep the foremen honest.

As she drew near to the boiler where Section 23 was working, she realized that something had to have gone wrong. Tasks were abandoned, and she could hear raised voices on the other side of the boiler. Quickening her pace, she walked around and found most of Section 23 gathered around Kegan, Thera and Mevor, who was the foreman of Section 23. Kegan looked furious while Thera stood looking embarrassed.

“She’s supposed to do what I say, not go off on her own!” Kegan said irately. “I’ve only just taught her how to do valve maintenance. She should have come found me!”

“What seems to be the problem here?” Brenna asked, walking forward.

Mevor grimaced, wiping her brow with her sleeve. “Kegan went on a necessity break, and left Thera maintaining the valves on the number two boiler. While she was gone, an emergency arose. I was at the number one boiler, and Devon didn’t know what to do when the lines overheated.” Mevor nodded at the pipes that led from away from the condenser. Brenna nodded, pursing her lips anxiously. That was becoming a bigger and bigger problem, but she didn’t know what to do about it.

“She should have come found me!” Kegan repeated stubbornly.

Brenna gave her a look that silenced her and turned back to Mevor. The older woman pushed her hair back wearily. “Instead of seeking help from a more experienced worker, Thera bled the lines, dealing with the problem.”

“And the trouble is . . .” Brenna looked at Kegan, then at Thera, then back to Mevor.

“Kegan believes she shouldn’t have taken action on her own, but should instead have found help.”

“If she’d gone, the lines would have blew,” Devon said suddenly. “They were going to go, but she stopped it.”

“You don’t know that!” Kegan snapped.

“Thera?” Brenna said. “What have you got to say for yourself?”

The woman looked up, eyes wide and very skittish, like she didn’t want to be the center of attention. “The lines were going,” she said. “I just did what I thought needed to be done.”

Brenna took a deep breath and nodded. “And you did right,” she said. Thera’s shoulders relaxed with relief, but Kegan looked up and glared. Brenna was beginning to be worried about that one, but she didn’t want to judge too soon. “Working in the mines can have an effect on the memory, you all know that. People often need to be retrained, but the knowledge also frequently comes back. Thera has worked with machines before, so it’s not surprising that she might have some skills resurface.” She looked around at the gathered crowd. “Now, I hardly think this required the attention of everyone in Section 23, so perhaps the rest of you should return to your tasks.”

They all stiffened and nodded their heads. “It is an honor to serve,” they said in a ragged chorus, then dispersed to their jobs, leaving Brenna with Kegan, Thera and Mevor.

“Thera, Kegan, back to work,” Brenna said, and they both repeated the mantra that kept them all alive down here and moved off.

Brenna nodded to Mevor, but as she started to turn, Mevor said, “Brenna, may I have a word with you?”

Brenna turned, and Mevor made a little gesture as if to say she wished to speak in private. Brenna led the way up to her office where she sat down and waited for Mevor to speak. “I may be speaking out of turn, but I was concerned when you placed Thera with Kegan.”

“Concerned?” Brenna repeated. “Why?”

“She’s been showing some signs of . . .” Mevor shook her head. “Over the past couple of weeks, she’s begun to be very touchy, particularly with other women. If you’d put her with one of the new men, I think she might have been fine, but this has only made things worse.”

Brenna bit her lip. “I didn’t realize. I wish you’d said something.”

“I wasn’t sure enough,” Mevor said. “I didn’t want to cause her problems if I was misinterpreting what I was seeing. It might have been a personality conflict with some of the others in the section.” Brenna nodded. “It doesn’t help that Thera is exceptionally gifted, even knowing that she’s worked with machines before.”

“I see.” Brenna considered. Kegan didn’t come up for her examination for another month. A worker who had to be stamped before the regular examination time got a much more intense stamp than they might otherwise have gotten, and Brenna preferred to avoid that. For one thing, knowledge and skills had to be rebuilt, for another, personality tended to change dramatically. “Do you think she needs to be transferred to another section?”

Mevor reacted with relief that the suggestion had come from Brenna. “I’m afraid I do. I’d recommend either 19 or 25.” Brenna nodded. Both were headed by men, and 25 was made up primarily of men. “It’s a shame, really,” Mevor went on. “She’s a very good teacher. I’m not sure what’s causing this.”

“It’s often very hard to tell,” Brenna replied. “We’ll see if we can’t work her through the problem.”

Mevor nodded. “It’s an honor to serve,” she said, and left.

Brenna sat back. She hadn’t considered that the superior technical knowledge the strangers had might cause problems. This one wasn’t solved by any means. Kegan would likely view the transfer as a punishment no matter what she was told, and she would also likely blame Thera. She shook her head. At least O’Neill hadn’t gotten involved in that little disagreement. What next?

* * *

Daniel cleaned off the grime and slime in the shower, he soaked away the aches, but when he returned to his little prison cell, he still felt filthy. He could feel Calder’s hands on him, in him, the bastard’s lips traveling across his skin. He remembered, though, from his experiences with Hathor, that no amount of scrubbing would make the feeling go away.

No position was comfortable. Naked as he was, he felt vulnerable no matter which way he turned. He kept his eye on the window. Light passed across it, the sun setting. He was to be prepared for the evening, according to Calder’s orders. He wondered without really wanting to know what the preparation consisted of.

When the guards came, he was standing by the window, his back to the room. He didn’t turn when the door opened. A voice said, “Put your hands behind you.” Daniel obeyed without much emotion. He was here. He was stuck here. He was going to have to count on Hammond’s figuring out that what he was being told was far from the truth.

They bound his hands behind him and took him from the room. They had stopped before a door, waiting for it to open before it occurred to him. What the preparations consisted of wasn’t the issue, the question was, what were they preparing him for?

The room was redolent with a spicy aroma, and there were many cupboards. They uncuffed his hands, then produced another set and cuffed his wrists to the arms of the chair. Then they withdrew to stand by the door.. Daniel gazed around apprehensively. Who was Mahail and what was he likely to do?

After several anxious moments, a pleasant-looking man entered the room and surveyed Daniel. He was in that indeterminate age between forty and fifty, with silver threaded through his brown hair. Brown eyes looked Daniel up and down assessingly. “He wants you prepared, does he?” He raised an eyebrow, looking at the cuffs binding Daniel to the chair. “Well, it’s clear he wants you bound, so that will have to be part of it,” he said slowly.

“What’s going on?” Daniel asked.

The man shook his head. “Hush, now, boy. I’m thinking.”

“I don’t care. What’s going on?”

Mahail, or so Daniel assumed, looked at him critically. “I’ll have to ask him if he wants a gag. You do seem chatty.” Daniel clamped his jaws shut, and the man pursed his lips, eyes going distant again. “You have a lot of natural beauty, we’ll want to enhance that. And those bruises and bites . . . hmm . . .” He turned to what looked like a computer console and called something up. “Yes, right, oh . . .” He nodded slowly and turned back towards Daniel. “We’ll want to make sure those show.”

Daniel blinked nervously. What the hell was going on? Did he want to know? He gulped. Somehow, he doubted it was going to be pleasant for him.

Mahail walked over to one of the cupboards and opened it, pulling out a series of jars. He opened one of them and turned, a dollop of some kind of oil on one hand. Daniel shrank slightly, but Mahail ignored his reaction, assuming he even noticed it.

He walked around behind Daniel, and began to work the oil into his hair. A spicy scent came to Daniel’s nostrils, and he said, “You might want to be aware that I’m allergic to any number of scents. Somehow, I don’t think anyone will thank you if I spend the evening sneezing.”

“That is useful to know,” Mahail said. “But you don’t seem to be reacting to this one.”

“Not yet,” Daniel replied, but he didn’t think the spice was going to bother him. It was usually flowers.

“That’s good. Administrator Calder particularly likes this scent.” Daniel closed his eyes. Just what he needed. Maybe he could manufacture a sneeze. Probably not believably.

Once the oil was worked in, Mahail walked back over and picked up a small container and a thing like a paintbrush. He walked back over to Daniel, still gauging him with his eyes. “I think we’ll want the briefest possible modesty cloth. Those are very fine legs.” He looked over at the guards. “Does he have to be tied down?”

“He’s not taking well to his change in circumstances,” one of the guards said. “And he’s trained in combat.”

“That’s a problem. I need to be able to look at his back as well.” He gazed at Daniel, then reached out and lifted his chin. Eyes full of sincerity, he said, “This room is locked, the apartment is extremely well guarded, and Administrator Calder is a man with a resentful temperament. You would be well advised to keep on your best behavior, particularly after that performance earlier today.”

Daniel nodded his understanding.

“Now, harming me will not get you free.”

“Mahail?” said the guard who seemed to do all the talking. “He will have to be restrained. It’s Administrator Calder’s orders.”

“Very well,” Mahail said, looking annoyed. He left the room and came back several minutes later with a stool. “Find some way to attach him to this. I need as full access to him as possible.”

They took about ten minutes working out the best option. He wound up standing up with his arms stretched above his head on either side. There were light fixtures hanging from hooks in the ceiling, and they ran cords through those hooks and tied them to his cuffs.

“Better,” Mahail said, setting the stool aside. “He’ll probably have plenty of time for sitting later, though I don’t really know for sure what’s planned.” Daniel gulped. This was sounding worse and worse.

Mahail walked around him several times. “The administrator has been quite creative in his placement of some of his markings,” he said, reaching out with a finger to part the cheeks of Daniel’s ass. He couldn’t help it, he twitched away. Mahail moved backwards. “You said he’s combat trained?”

“Yes.”

“Perhaps we should place some kind of bindings on his feet as well.” The guards agreed and some time was spent tying his ankles together. Daniel bore it . . . he didn’t have much choice. Finally, Mahail approached with the jar and paintbrush. He started painting something cold and slightly itchy in seemingly random places on Daniel’s shoulder and chest. Daniel peered down and realized that the man was painting his bruises with something clear and a little shiny. He did the front upper half of Daniel’s body, then closed the jar and put it down on the counter. Picking something else up, he started spraying some kind of airgun at him, and Daniel peered down to see what it was doing.

Something glittery was adhering to his torso, most particularly where that stuff had been painted. He didn’t know what to make of it until Mahail got out a larger brush with very soft bristles and began brushing most of it off. He was left with a slight glitter over the bruises and bites that drew attention to them. This process continued around the rest of his body, the spot in between his buttocks included. Who was going to be looking at him? More to the point, who was going to be looking _that_ closely at him?

When he was done enhancing all of Daniel’s contusions, Mahail returned to his counter and pulled something else out. He walked over with a small jar of powder and some kind of brush. “You have exquisite skin, truly, but let’s just emphasize your better features.” Daniel couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing, but it was making his stomach churn, standing here while he was made up for some kind of . . . show?

Calder was . . . was he planning on showing Daniel off? Displaying his acquisition for an admiring audience of peers? The very thought was nauseating, as were the accompanying questions. How much display? How interactive was the display supposed to be? Was it ‘show and tell’ or a petting zoo?

He shuddered, and Mahail stared at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow. Then, shaking his head, he returned to painting something on Daniel’s lower lip.

Finally he stepped back and put the cosmetics away. Opening another cupboard, he began to sort through very brief bits of fabric. Over his shoulder, he said, “One of you, go over to the cupboard behind me and find something in there that you feel is strong enough to hold your prisoner. There are some leg restraints as well, matching sets. See what you can find. If there isn’t anything, we may have to send to my workshop.”

Daniel’s shoulders and arms were growing very tired. The door behind him opened and he flinched at the thought of anyone else seeing him like this. There was silence in the room, then footsteps and the door closed again.

“Administrator, you’re earlier than I expected.”

“I’m afraid something has come up,” Calder said. Fury simmered in Daniel’s gut, probably burning holes.

“Is the evening canceled?”

“No, merely put off.”

“Oh, good, then. I’ve got some things I’d like to fetch. I didn’t realize quite what was called for in this case.”

“The guards will make sure he doesn’t do anything to disturb your beautiful work. Let him down for now. I don’t want him too tired to service me tonight.” Humiliation caused Daniel’s face and ears to burn.

“Of course, Administrator,” Mahail said. “If you will excuse me . . .”

“I won’t be more than an hour later than we discussed, so don’t take long.”

“I will be swift.” The door opened and then shut again.

The guards started to unbind Daniel, but Calder spoke. “Wait a moment.” He walked around in front and looked Daniel up and down. “Mahail has done himself proud,” he said, reaching out and stroking Daniel’s chest from collarbone to right nipple, then pinching. Daniel twitched, his teeth clenched. “I, too, will be swift. I look forward to this evening immensely.”

Calder left then, and the guards took his arms down and let him sit in the chair again, his wrists once more bound to the arms. It was considerably more comfortable, though he could wish that Mahail had gotten to the ‘modesty cloth.’ However brief, it would have been better than total nudity.

Mahail returned in about ten or fifteen minutes. Daniel looked up at him apprehensively. “Has he been to the necessary?” the man asked the guards.

“No.”

“Well, take him,” Mahail said impatiently. “He’s not going to have much of an opportunity once things get started this evening.”

There wasn’t much question now what Mahail was talking about. Calder had people coming to look at his new pet, and Daniel only had to wonder anew just how much looking there would be and how much touching.

He didn’t know if he’d be able to cope. How many people were coming? His mind whirled with questions he had no answers to, and no one was likely to answer them if he asked them. He’d already tried and Mahail had ignored him.

When he’d used the toilet and washed his hands, they returned him to Mahail who said, “Sit him down again. I don’t want this to wrinkle while we’re waiting.” The guards followed his instructions. “Now, put this on his ankles.” He handed across a pair of what looked like leather cuffs.

One of the guards took them with a dubious look. “I’m not sure . . . hey, this is heavy.”

“It’s steel inside,” Mahail said.

They knelt and put the cuffs on Daniel’s ankles. He wanted to kick them, but what would be the point? He had nowhere to go, no way to get free of the chair.

After what felt like nearly an hour, there was a buzz, and Mahail nodded. “That will be the administrator. Get him up.”

They pulled Daniel to his feet and Mahail picked up a strip of linen. He wrapped it around Daniel’s hips one and a half times, then secured it somehow at the left side. It was long enough to cover Daniel’s privates, but only barely, and there did not appear to be matching briefs.

The guards undid the cuffs behind him and rebound his arms with something that matched the restraints on his legs. “This is how gifts were presented to the ancient god-kings,” Mahail said. “Minus the glitter.”

Daniel was reflecting that the Goa’ulds would probably approve of the glitter when Mahail fitted something around Daniel’s neck from behind. There was a click. Daniel tried to pull away, but his guards were still holding him on either side. The door opened again and Daniel stiffened. Calder walked in, and his eyes lit up when he saw Daniel. “I approve, Mahail,” Calder said. “You are most worthy of your hire.”

“I thank you, Administrator,” Mahail said. He walked around in front of Daniel and hooked what was clearly a leash onto the collar. Daniel ground his teeth, but he didn’t say anything. Turning back to Calder, Mahail asked, “Are we ready?”

“I believe so.”

“I didn’t want to place the gag until it was time, for fear of damaging that lovely mouth.” Daniel stared at Mahail, then shook his head, starting to back away. One of the guards stepped behind him and held his shoulders firmly. “Open your mouth, boy,” Mahail said. “There’s no point in resisting.” Daniel knew there was no point, but he also could not quietly submit to having a gag stuffed into his mouth.

They forced his jaws open and put the thing inside. It was softer than he’d expected, and flat inside his mouth. He could bite down on it. On the surface it was leather and covered his lips. Thongs tied it behind his head, and Mahail pulled them tight. Then he walked around him, touching up anything that seemed incomplete to him.

“Shall we show him what he looks like?” Mahail asked after he was satisfied.

“Let him wonder,” Calder said without a moment’s hesitation. He looked at the guards. “Give me ten minutes and then bring him.”

He left the room and Daniel stood, bound, leashed, gagged and . . . highlighted . . . and utterly appalled.


	15. Chapter 15

The ten minutes passed far too quickly. Mahail looked him over one last time, then handed the leash to the guard on Daniel’s left. Daniel didn’t want to walk out of this room, not like this, but they propelled him forward, and faced with a choice between moving and thumping onto his face, his body took over and started moving. He stumbled a bit over the leg restraints at first, but then got the hang of the shuffling walk they forced him to adopt.

This was already unbelievably humiliating, and the only people present were the guards who had watched the whole process. He didn’t know how he was going to cope with more.

He felt a sudden surge of disgust at his own self pity, and he straightened his spine slightly. Participant observation. That’s all it really was. Involuntary participant observation. He was getting a closer look at this culture than they could ever have managed otherwise. Whether he’d have chosen to or not was a side issue, he’d get through it because he had to.

They took him into a small space that was clearly an anteroom, and there they waited, Daniel growing more anxious by the minute. When the door opened and Calder came out, Daniel heard the sound of talking, and it sounded like an alarming number of people. The door shut behind the administrator and Daniel bit his lip and took a deep breath. He had questions, but he had no way to ask them.

Calder took hold of the leash and tugged on it lightly. Daniel glared sullenly at him and waited. “It has suddenly occurred to me that you are a stranger here, and might not know what to expect,” Calder said. He chuckled. “Frankly, you could have lived here all your life and you might not know what to expect.”

Daniel’s gut twisted and he grit his teeth hard on the forgiving substance of the bit in his mouth. He raised a sarcastic eyebrow, inviting Calder to continue.

“There are approximately twenty of my colleagues in there, men and women both.” Daniel nodded. “They are all eager to see you.” Daniel gulped. That didn’t sound promising, but it was what he’d been expecting. “As to what I expect of you . . . let’s just say that if any of the fighting you’ve been taught show up tonight, I will not be pleased.”

Daniel nodded again. That pretty much went without saying.

“Try to enjoy yourself.” He stroked down Daniel’s chest and abdomen to his navel, leaning close. “I can assure you, everyone else will.” He turned to face the door, nodding at the guards to step away.   The door opened and Calder stepped forward, his hand on the leash pulling on Daniel’s neck.   “Come, Daniel,” he said, in very much the tone one uses when addressing a pet.

Participant observation, Daniel said to himself. Imagine the paper that could be written and ignore the fact that it couldn’t be published.

They were immediately surrounded by Calder’s guests, who were all staring at him avidly. Daniel recognized one or two faces among them, and felt his anger and anxiety both notch a bit higher. He’d had a long talk over dinner the first night with a man who was now gazing at him raptly, almost hungrily, from the fringe of the group. Calder pushed through, pulling Daniel behind him.

He heard snatches of comments. “ . . . muscles, who’d have thought . . .” “Such blue eyes . . .” “ . . . in bed he must be . . .” He closed his ears as best he could, and ignored the furtive touches people managed as he walked by.

“Please,” Calder said, obviously pleased by the attention Daniel was garnering, “you act as if you’d never seen a handsome servant before. Quite the provincials, the lot of you.” Gradually, the fuss died down and the party broke into smaller groups to talk, but Daniel felt eyes on him from all over the room. Calder led him to a chair with a pillow beside it, between it and another chair. “Settle yourself, Daniel,” Calder said, gesturing at the pillow as he sat down. Daniel looked down and considered how best to achieve this without flashing everyone. After a moment, he knelt down. It stretched the fabric taut across his butt, but there wasn’t much he could do about that.

“He is beautiful,” said a woman walking up and taking the chair on the other side of Daniel. She was probably thirty, thirty-five, very pretty, but her eyes were cold and covetous. “May I?” she asked, and Daniel looked up to see her gesturing at him.

He turned to Calder suspiciously in time to see him nod with a smile, and a hand stroked down the back of his head. He shuddered as she continued down his neck and onto his shoulder. “What do you think?” Calder asked.

“That you’re a fortunate man,” she said. Her hand found Daniel’s chin and pulled his head around. Daniel considered refusing, but he had a feeling Calder wouldn’t like that. Survival was imperative. If he didn’t survive, he couldn’t escape and help Jack and the others. He turned to look into her face. “I wish I could see his mouth.” Calder didn’t say anything, but he must have made some negating gesture, because she pouted briefly before stroking her thumb across the gag. “What a shame.”

He suffered through several more conversations like that one, and heard all about how intriguing, alluring and generally hot he was, if not in those words exactly. Calder allowed some of them to touch him but not others, and Daniel wondered why. Not that he wasn’t glad when Calder didn’t give permission for a new stranger to fondle him, but there had to be a reason. There was probably some political undercurrent he wasn’t picking up on. It appeared that his mental connection of Calder to Tiberius might not have been so far wrong. Political favors traded for sexual favors. Unbridled hedonism at the highest levels . . .

They hadn’t seen any signs of this sort of behavior among the people of the city. Admittedly, they had been on guided tours, but if this was a normal part of their society, they wouldn’t likely hide it from strangers, not if they were as isolated as they claimed to have been. It would be like ordinary Americans concealing that they kiss close relatives. It would never occur to them as an oddity, but there are cultures where such touching is taboo.

When one of the guests wasn’t caressing Daniel’s hair or face or shoulder, it was Calder, absently brushing his fingers across Daniel’s cheek, tugging or twisting a handy nipple, and people watched avidly. Daniel tried to keep the cultural observer at the forefront of his reactions, but the rape victim was difficult to suppress, especially with hands all over him.

After a while, Calder got up and pulled on the leash. Daniel rose, biting down hard on the bit to control his anger. He led Daniel over to a group of people where he started to converse about politics and the weather. Daniel listened, but the political talk was largely gossip, and without knowing the players, he was quickly lost. He stored it all up for later, though, as he might need it.

Calder was on his left, his hand absently stroking Daniel’s chest, the leash pulled tight enough to keep Daniel from moving out of easy reach. When a hand insinuated itself on his ass from the right, Daniel looked over, startled. It was the man he’d talked about harvest rituals with that first evening. For some reason his name wasn’t coming to mind. He smiled at Daniel when he turned, and the expression made Daniel’s flesh creep. He clenched his fists behind him. There was nothing he could do. He wondered if Calder would object if he knew the man was taking liberties. His groping grew more intimate, and Daniel twitched away involuntarily.

This caused Calder to turn. When he saw what was happening, his eyes went cold. “Purvis, take your hands off my property.” Purvis drew back his hand instantly, smiling unctuously. “Don’t you have a report due on my desk tomorrow?”

Purvis got the message and made his excuses. Daniel was not sorry to see him go. The party thinned after that until there was only one guest left, a man of about fifty who was short and stocky, with gray hair and a habitual look of irony. Daniel had noticed him in the room because he had a charisma about him, but he hadn’t approached thus far.

“Shall we move our conversation to more intimate environs?” Calder asked, still stroking Daniel as if he wasn’t even thinking about it. Daniel cringed slightly at the word intimate. It brought unpleasant thoughts to mind.

“I’d like that,” the man said, and Daniel was forced to follow while they made their way through the halls, talking about commonplaces. The pace they kept was difficult for Daniel to match with the leg restraints, but he managed not to fall, somehow.

The room they went to was a private parlor that had clearly been fitted for the purpose. Guards followed them and at Calder’s nod, they unbound Daniel’s arms and positioned him on a backless couch with his arms bound somewhat loosely above his head to either end of a foot long bar, and his feet bound similarly at the other end of the couch. Both bars seemed to turn freely on whatever they were attached to, which meant that the men could position Daniel however they wanted to without untying him. He started out on his back.

Both men looked down at him as the guards left, and Daniel felt himself grow chill. This was more than he’d bargained for even as a cultural observer. He felt his heart start to speed up.

“Calder, in a group that size, a modesty cloth is well and good, it makes the boundaries clear, but between old friends?”

“No, you’re quite right,” Calder said, and he bent to the fastenings on Daniel’s left hip. Daniel shook his head and growled audibly if not coherently, but Calder removed the narrow strip of fabric nonetheless, leaving Daniel bare of any protection at all.

“He’s not happy, is he?” asked the man, whose name Daniel still had not heard. He was smiling down at Daniel, an amused twinkle in his eyes. “Have you tasted him yet?” he asked, reaching out and pulling down on Daniel’s penis.

Daniel spasmed, trying to move away, but Calder sat down on the couch beside his left hip, and the man sat down on the other side, pinning him between them, the man’s hand still on his penis.

“Not yet,” Calder said. “I was waiting. If you’d like –”

“No, no.” The older man shook his head and shifted his attention from Daniel’s penis to his balls. “I wouldn’t dream of it, but once you have, let me know.”

Daniel clenched his teeth on the bit. This was plumbing new depths of misery. They were calmly discussing him as if he were a bottle of wine that hadn’t yet been uncorked.

“Could you remove the gag?”

Calder pursed his lips. “He has a mouth on him, Daros.”

Daros smiled ironically. “That’s why I want you to remove the gag.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Calder said irritably. “He’s impudent and untrained. He doesn’t know his place.”

“I think I can handle a little verbal abuse, Calder,” Daros replied. “I want to see his mouth. Purvis said his lips are . . .” As Daros spoke, Calder began to remove the gag, and the older man’s voice trailed off when he got a look at Daniel’s face. “Well, for once Purvis doesn’t exaggerate.” Daniel worked his jaw, keeping his thoughts to himself. They wouldn’t help him with either of these two.

“I’m not happy that he’s been talking, though,” Calder said.

“With the pressure everyone’s been putting on him to find out all the details, you can hardly blame him for letting a few slip.” Calder reached out and started twirling the nub of Daniel’s left nipple, making him cringe away as much as possible. The fingers tightened and he stopped trying to move. With one of them massaging his balls and the other one pinching his nipple, he was fairly well covered. Daniel wanted to kick both their heads in, but not only was he bound, he was barefoot. If he tried, he’d break his foot, and then how would he escape?

“Is harvest going to be on time this season?” Daros asked in a bizarre non sequitur.

“It should be,” Calder replied. “We’re not having any real problems with either the plants or the workers. The second growing season will be able to start when it’s supposed to for once.”

It was surreal to hear this conversation while they were molesting him.

“Good. That should leave plenty of time for the pazures to grow big and juicy. The last couple of years they’ve been kind of puny.”

Calder glanced up, and Daniel saw that there was a clock of some kind on the wall. He looked at Daros, a half-smile on his face. “So, how would you like some time alone with him?”

Daniel’s eyes widened and so did Daros’s. “I’d be delighted,” he replied. His eyes narrowed slightly and he looked with mild suspicion at Calder. “Why? What do you want?”

“Oh, nothing,” Calder said airily, in a way that meant very clearly that he had something specific in mind but wasn’t going to share right now.

“I see.” Daros looked down at Daniel’s eyes, and Daniel turned away, sickened by the pleasure he saw there. “Certainly. I’d love to have him all to myself.”

“Well, then . . .” Calder stood up. “Enjoy yourself, enjoy him. I don’t know how long I’ll be away, but the business I have to do should take at least an hour, maybe more.”

Daniel didn’t believe what he was hearing. Calder was leaving him alone with this man. What business did he have to transact at this hour anyway? He watched in shock as Calder left the room, then Daros gave his balls a light squeeze, drawing his attention back to the man who was looming over him. “He’s gone, and I’m here. Your attention should be on me.”

“Right,” Daniel said, and his voice was unsteady.

“Don’t fret,” Daros said. “I won’t hurt you.” He stood up and began to disrobe.

“Are you planning on having sex with me?” Daniel asked.

“Of course,” Daros replied, looking surprised at the question. “I’d be a fool to pass up an opportunity like this one.”

“Then you’re going to hurt me,” Daniel said.

“Sex doesn’t have to be about pain. What’s your name, by the way?”

Daniel looked up at him and licked his lips uncomfortably. “Daniel,” he said.

“Daniel . . .” Daros sounded like he was tasting the word on his tongue. “I like it. Daniel.” Under his clothes he was solidly built. Maybe a little overweight, but not flabby. “What’s your preferred position?” he asked.

“I’d like to be at home, reading a book, actually,” Daniel said. “Think you could arrange that for me?”

Daros laughed. “I’m afraid not, and if I could, I wouldn’t want to miss out on a chance at this body for anything.”

“There is _nothing_ special about my body!” Daniel growled.

Daros looked at him for several minutes critically. “Perhaps not, but there is something special about the man who inhabits it, something deeply alluring.”

Daniel closed his eyes. He didn’t want to hear that he had some indefinable something about him that made rapists and other wackos want to play with him. Daros sat down beside him and placed a hand on his belly, stroking gently. Daniel turned his head away.

Daros bent and licked around the aureole of Daniel’s right nipple, making Daniel tense. Very gently, the older man took the nub of the nipple into his mouth and began to massage it with his tongue. At the same time, he moved his hand lower and began to stroke Daniel’s penis. This was very different from Calder, but Daniel liked it no better. It was unjustifiably intimate if less violent.

Pain had the effect of dampening any possible physical reaction. The absence of pain made his body more susceptible to stimulation. Enough stimulation from the zipper of a pair of jeans could make a man erect. Gentle, persistent stroking had the same effect, and to Daniel’s chagrin, he began to find his body reacting. Daros reached out with his other hand and began to massage Daniel’s right nipple, and gradually, erotic sensations from there began build, then to filter down to his groin.

“Stop!” he said urgently. “Please! I don’t want this.”

“But you do,” Daros murmured. “On some level you do, or you wouldn’t react.”

“On a purely physical level,” Daniel replied. “I know this game, and I won’t play it.”

Daros drew back for a moment and gazed into his eyes. “You do, don’t you? How amusing. Well, that may make this more challenging, but I’m up for a challenge.”

“Thrilling.” Daniel closed his eyes and tried not to care what was happening.

Daros chuckled. “Now concentrate on what your body is telling you,” he said, bending close and toying briefly with Daniel’s nipple using teeth and tongue. The gentle, deft manipulation sent an electric impulse to Daniel’s groin, causing him to tense and clench his fists, trying to damp down the reaction. “Your mind would cheat you of this glorious sensory feast,” Daros murmured. His other hand massaged Daniel’s right nipple. “Don’t let it.”

“I don’t want it!” Daniel growled.

Daros straddled him suddenly. “There you go,” he said in admonitory tones. “Letting your mind spoil things.” Daros took an earlobe delicately between his teeth, one hand still gently stimulating Daniel’s penis, continuing to encourage his increasing arousal. Daros’s penis was growing hard, too, against Daniel’s lower abdomen, promising worse things to come. “This is not a time for the mind,” Daros said in Daniel’s ear. He returned to nibbling, and Daniel tried to put his mind elsewhere. After several minutes, he spoke again, his voice low and husky. “Has Calder kissed you?”

“What?” Daniel asked incredulously, the question taking him by surprise.

“I won’t take your mouth unless he has, a little matter of courtesy,” Daros said, and Daniel’s mind boggled at the notion that there was protocol for this situation. “Before you answer,” Daros continued, “do recall that I can check your answer easily by asking him when he returns.” Daniel grit his teeth almost wishing for the gag back. “Well, sweet Daniel, has he kissed you?”

Daniel nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“Good,” Daros purred, and Daniel’s stomach turned over. “Then I presume you know the rules and will follow them with me as you would with Calder.” Daniel looked away, but Daros turned his head back. “Answer the question,” he said mildly, but there was a hint of steel beneath the surface.

“What’s the question?” Daniel asked. “I didn’t hear a question.”

Daros nipped Daniel’s ear. “Do you know the rules?” he asked, his voice a little harder. Daniel realized that he was pressing his luck. He nodded. “And will you obey them with me as you would with Calder?” Daniel shuddered as the man continued to fondle and tease his flesh. “Daniel?”

Very unwillingly, Daniel nodded again. To his surprise, Daros didn’t follow up this sequence of questions with the obvious next step. Instead he buried his face in Daniel’s neck and proceeded to kiss and nibble his way around and down onto Daniel’s chest. Daniel grit his teeth against the sensation that was building in his groin. Persistent efforts on the part of his rapist were being rewarded with a growing erection. Together with that, Daniel’s skin was becoming more sensitized to Daros’s touch, which was making it harder to keep still.

Evidently cultivating sexual pleasure by causing pain in a partner was not necessarily the norm among Calder’s peers. Just an enjoyment of unwilling partners. How secret were these activities? Was this sort of behavior tolerated or even expected in the ruling class, or were Calder and his little group of friends playing with fire? How did this culture govern sexuality? It was a question that he hadn’t had the opportunity to –

His train of thought was derailed abruptly when Daros bit down on his left nipple hard enough to sting. “Where have you gone?” he asked facetiously. “Concentrate on sensation. You’ll have plenty of time to think later.”

“What does it matter to you?” Daniel asked, his temper snapping. “I’m nothing more than a set of gonads to you. If you’re going to do this, get on with it and stop trying to engage my interest!”

Daros sat up suddenly and looked down at Daniel, who was looking up at him angrily. “You are considerably more than your generative organs, Daniel,” Daros said, his voice smooth as silk. “I would not be interested in you were you simply a beautiful body. Those I can get in abundance.”

Daniel closed his eyes. “I don’t want to know this.”

“Your skin is flawless, your mouth incredibly lush . . .”

“I know what I look like,” Daniel said. “Please stop.”

“You may know what you look like, but it’s clear that you don’t appreciate what you look like, if you grasp the difference.”

“I’m a linguist,” Daniel snapped. “I could quote you chapter and verse. Do you want the etymology, the modern connotations, the –”

In the middle of Daniel’s angry spate of words, Daros bent and kissed him, his tongue delving deeply into Daniel’s mouth. Daniel had to concentrate to keep from bringing his teeth closed hard on that invasive object. He clenched his fists and endured the kiss. The hand at his groin never stopped, never faltered, and Daniel was beginning to have difficulty keeping himself under control.

After a long, intense kiss, Daros drew back. “I want you to stop thinking about words, stop thinking about what you don’t want to happen and start paying attention to what your body is telling you.”

“My body is not me,” Daniel growled.

Daros squeezed Daniel’s erect penis, and Daniel flinched. He felt the quickening of his heart rate, the flush . . . he was damned well not going to. Not. Going. To.

“That certainly feels like you, doesn’t it?” Daros said softly, and Daniel glared at him. “Lose yourself in the sensation.” He bent to Daniel’s chest again and redoubled his efforts to bring Daniel to the peak of sexual excitation. After several moments, he got up and grabbed a couple of thick cushions. He got Daniel to sit up and put them behind him, loosening the chain somehow so that his arms were still held above his head, but not so tightly that it was interfering with breathing. The cushions held him in a half reclining position. Then Daros lifted Daniel’s left leg and slipped underneath it to straddle the sofa. When the shifting about was finally completed, Daniel’s erection had lost a bit of oomph, and his legs were draped over the top of Daros’s.

As soon as they were settled, Daros began to kiss and nibble and lick every part of Daniel’s chest that he could reach. His hands went to work bringing Daniel’s erection back to full force. When that had been accomplished, he reached under the couch and pulled out a little jar. Opening it, he pulled out a spicy smelling substance with which he liberally lubricated Daniel’s anus without pushing inside.

“Please stop,” Daniel said, gritting his teeth.

“The sooner you let your body rule your mind, the happier you will be.”

“The sooner you get the hell away from me, the happier I’ll be!” Daniel snarled. Then he gasped as Daros slipped a slick finger inside him. His fingers were larger than Calder’s but less rough, and Daniel involuntarily tensed his muscles against the intrusion.

“Calder said you had a lover,” Daros said. “But you feel too tight for that.”

Daniel grimaced but didn’t say anything. Telling Calder’s friend that Calder was a self-deluded jackass would probably not go over well, especially if the words were repeated later to Calder himself. He bit his lip as another finger joined the first, working at stretching the opening.

“Let go, Daniel,” Daros murmured. “Allow your body to feel this without interference. Lose yourself in –”

Daniel wanted to tell him to shut up, to keep his damned philosophy of hedonism to himself, but talking to him just caused him to babble more. He closed his eyes and tried to distract himself with thoughts of the stack of translations that was undoubtedly piling up on his desk. Would they call Robert back from vacation to fill the gap?

Daros’s fingers were probing gently, reaching for something Daniel hoped that he wouldn’t find, while his thumb massaged the sensitive skin between Daniel’s scrotum and his anus, making Daniel squirm. He wanted it to stop, but there was nothing he could do.

Moreover, his body was responding treacherously to Daros’s ministrations, and there was nothing he could do about that either. Pressure was building in his groin, and the skin all over his body felt sensitized. Daros’s lips and teeth went everywhere within reach, his hands worked busily, one inside Daniel, the other fondling his balls.

Abruptly, Daros found what he was looking for, and Daniel gasped. His erect penis went even stiffer with the sudden shock of the sensation, and Daros chuckled again. Daniel’s breath was shallow as he tried to keep himself from the inevitable reaction as Daros hit the spot again and again, making Daniel’s head swim and his eyes cross with the malign pleasure that was pouring through him.

Release came finally, spurts of semen jetting from the tip of his penis. As Daniel’s penis went flaccid, Daros lifted him up and shifted forward. Still shuddering and breathing heavily from his own orgasm, Daniel let out a groaning gasp as Daros entered him slowly, hands supporting his ass while gravity did its work.

Oddly, though his fingers were larger than Calder’s, his penis was smaller, but he still stretched Daniel uncomfortably wide. Ripples of anguishing sensual response were still coursing through Daniel’s body as Daros started to moan his own pleasure. When Daniel’s ass rested as far down as it would go, Daros used his hands to shift Daniel’s hips until his cock found the sweet spot his hands had found earlier. Daniel gasped, and his penis came to half mast. Then Daros began to grind and lift Daniel up ever so slightly and let him drop, slamming the head of his erection into Daniel’s body. It was indescribable. Pleasure and misery intertwined. Physical longing warred with emotional revulsion. He felt stretched in fifty different directions, both physically and mentally.

Leaning up, Daros latched onto a nipple with his teeth, suckling till Daniel felt that stimulation shoot to his groin, increasing his unwanted arousal. Apparently, Daros was a master of extending his erections, because it went on and on. Slow, persistent grinding and minimal movement with regular taps on his prostate. It all had a predictable effect. Daniel’s penis filled and began to throb even without being touched except incidentally. Daniel’s thoughts were hopelessly scattered. He couldn’t seize on anything long enough to distract himself from what was happening to him.

Daros’s breathing began to come faster, his hands gripped Daniel’s buttocks tightly as his need grew, and he began to lift Daniel higher and thrust harder. Daniel clenched his teeth and his fists and controlled himself as rigidly as possible. The repeated taps on his prostate were threatening to set him off again, but he was damned if he was going to let Daros do it to him twice.

Lost in his own world of ecstasy Daros failed to notice when the door opened and Calder entered. He stopped, eyes widening, and the door closed behind him. Daniel stared at him, horrified. Had it been an hour? It seemed an eternity. Calder pulled up a chair and sat down, a rapacious look in his eyes as he watched Daros use Daniel’s body.

Daros gave a shuddering gasp and all movement ceased. Semen pumped into Daniel, hot jets joining the other waste in Daniel’s bowels. Calder’s eyes drank it all in, the man silently absorbing Daniel’s humiliation as if it were a fine wine. After several moments, Daros opened his eyes. His penis slipped out of Daniel’s anus, and gravity began to work. Who cleaned up after these sorts of events, Daniel wondered suddenly, disgust and shame combining to make him nauseous again. The secondhand witness to – and possibly secondary victim of – Daniel’s rape.

Calder spoke softly in the quiet of the room as Daros slowly recovered himself. “Taste him if you like. You’ve always enjoyed that more than I have.”

Daniel had thought Daros was unaware of Calder’s entrance, but he turned without surprise at the other man’s voice. “Really?” he said, his voice low and husky.

“He’s ready for you, Daros,” Calder said with some amusement. “Don’t waste the chance by questioning it.”

“I can bring him back if I want,” Daros said, satisfaction filling his tone. “This is his second fullness. He is very responsive.”

“I know,” Calder replied, his eyes seeking Daniel’s, a smug knowing look that made Daniel feel inside out and unclean. “But truly, I will enjoy watching more than doing.”

Every minute in this room made things worse. Daros smiled and looked into Daniel’s face with a lust that made Daniel cringe back. “There are times when I wish I could watch as well as do.” Taking hold of Daniel’s ass, he stuck a finger inside, wriggling it until he found the prostate. Daniel’s eyes widened with further dismay, and Calder leaned forward, watching with eagerness. He turned his eyes away and met Daros’s avid gaze. Misery washed over him, and he put his head back so he wouldn’t have to look at either of them.

A tongue started at the base of his penis, ran all the way along the underside, then toyed with the head. Daniel quivered with the effort to control himself, though he wondered why he bothered. It wasn’t going to stop them, and it was only prolonging the agony. Warmth engulfed the head of his penis, and slowly, Daros took him fully inside his mouth, his tongue and teeth teasing the shaft while his hand rhythmically tapped Daniel’s prostate.

A shattering orgasm released him finally, and he found himself gasping, head spinning, heart sick and mind numb. While he was still trying to recover from the fact that he had ejaculated twice during a rape without the excuse of drugs or unnatural pheromones, Daros shifted upward and kissed him on the mouth. Daniel tasted the salt bitterness of his own semen and fought to keep his stomach under control. Throwing up might make him feel better, but they wouldn’t be pleased.

The kiss was lingering and when Daros finally pulled back, Daniel felt utterly drained, and the anger in his gut was simmering without outlet. He wondered, was it Calder’s turn now?

Calder opened the door again and ordered the guards inside. Daniel blinked. Surely not . . . it couldn’t be the guards' turn. His gut twisted, but it was for nothing. Calder gestured at him and said, “Take him to bathe, give him an hour or so. I will send for him when I want him.”

So Calder was taking a turn. Lovely. The guards got him onto his feet and took him out of the room. As he left, Daros started to speak. “Thank you, that was glorious. He’s got such an air of vulnerability. Anytime you want to share, I’d be –”

Daniel tried not to care that he was filthy and naked, walking through the halls of this place with his wrists bound behind him and his bruises still partially coated with glitter.

He scrubbed himself thoroughly in the shower, then went to soak in the tub. His emotions were roiling somewhere, but they felt somehow at a distance. Heat seeped into his body, easing his physical aches, but nothing could ease his sense of failure and uselessness. He had escaped and gotten precisely nowhere. As he lay there, wishing he were home, a thought occurred to him. If he actually did escape, if he got away, they wouldn’t be able to rescue the rest of SG-1 because Calder would kill them all. He had that sort of vindictive nature. Half the reason he was doing this to Daniel was because he thought Jack was Daniel’s lover and he was angry with Jack.

The door opened and someone came in. Daniel started to sit up, to get out of the tub and leave, but it was Calder. “No, stay where you are,” he said.

“Sir, he is not bound,” the guard by the door protested.

“He will not attack me,” Calder said, taking his clothes off, dropping them on the floor, and walking over to stand under one of the shower heads. “He knows better, don’t you Daniel?”

Daniel closed his eyes and didn’t say anything. What could he say? If he attacked Calder, his friends would suffer. The threat was clear.

“Daniel?” Calder called. “I require an answer.”

“Yes.” Daniel submerged his head under the water and tried to imagine himself somewhere far from here. Nem’s planet would be nice. He emerged a few seconds later and shook his head to get the water out of his eyes.

“Did you not hear me?” Calder asked from the shower. He sounded a little testy.

“No,” Daniel replied. “I was under the water.”

“Did you enjoy your evening with Daros?”

Daniel grimaced. “How am I supposed to answer that?” he asked.

“With the truth,” Calder said.

Somehow Daniel was certain that any answer he offered would be wrong, and that the truth was doubly wrong. “No, then, I didn’t like it.”

Calder walked out of the stall dripping and approached the tub. Daniel started again to get up, to get out. Not that there wasn’t room enough for Calder, the guards, Daros and a few others in the tub, but he didn’t want to share it with the man.

“Stay,” Calder ordered, but Daniel stood and reached for a towel. Calder put his hand on Daniel’s arm. “Do the guards need to bind you?” he asked, his voice hard. Reluctantly, Daniel sat back down in the water. Calder joined him, putting a proprietary hand on Daniel’s leg. “So tell, me Daniel, who owns you?”

“My physical body is currently controlled by you,” Daniel said, his voice steady as he spoke.

Calder raised an eyebrow and smiled, and his hand stroked Daniel’s thigh lightly. “It’s a good beginning. I thought giving you to someone else would make some things come clearer to you, and now Daros owes me an equivalent favor.”

“That’s great,” Daniel said, looking away. He didn’t like being used, but being used for profit seemed somehow worse.

“Now, I have news for you.” Daniel looked back, startled. “I presume you know who Major Griff is?”

“Yes,” Daniel said, his heart quickening. “Why?” How did Calder know that name?

“Your General Hammond has insisted on searching the glacier for your team. He has sent this Major Griff with others and very impressive equipment for ice survival.” Daniel blinked and felt himself start to shake. Griff was here? In the city? “It was greeting him that delayed my little party,” Calder said, his hand still stroking Daniel’s leg. “And I left this evening to deal with a problem that arose as a result of his arrival.”

Did anyone in the city know what had happened to them? Did anyone care? Would anyone tell Griff, or would he search the ice field and go home, having found nothing?

If only he’d escaped later in the day! It might have been difficult to conceal his recapture from Griff’s team if it had happened while they were there.

“They are out there now, in the dark of night, searching for signs of you and your companions. Your people are most persistent.”

“You’d do better to send us home now,” Daniel said, leaning towards Calder earnestly. “You’re right, they are persistent. They’re not going to abandon us.”

“When they are convinced that you could not have survived on the glacier, they will give you up for dead,” Calder said, and Daniel hoped that wasn’t true. He started to turn away again, but Calder caught his hand around Daniel’s neck, pulling his face close. “You have no hope of rescue, Daniel. You are mine.”

Daniel pulled away, his fists clenched to keep him from punching his tormentor. Calder reached out and pinched the nearest nipple. Daniel tensed, but didn’t not turn back. Calder pinched again, then yawned. “Go to bed. I will call for you tomorrow.” He turned to the guards. “Provide him with clothing and take him to his room.”

Daniel got up and dried himself off. He could feel Calder’s eyes on him. The guard handed him clothing similar to that which he’d worn to visit that doctor. He pulled it on, trying not to notice Calder watching him salaciously.

As they approached the front door of the apartment, Daniel realized that he wasn’t bound, and he considered his options. Jack would . . . Jack would understand and approve, and it might not matter. Daniel knew where the underground was. He could lead Griff and the others there and they could all escape.

Abruptly turning, Daniel shoved one of the guards at the door. As he’d expected, it opened, but when Daniel dashed through it, he found himself caught between two more guards. They dragged him through the halls and threw him into his room. He slammed against the back wall and barely kept his feet. The door closed before he could reach it.

Daniel pounded on it, tears of anger, frustration and fear running unheeded down his cheeks. Calder would . . . he would . . .

Jack . . .

Eventually, Daniel lay down the bed, curled up into a ball and wept.


	16. Chapter 16

Tor rose with the sounding of the whistle that awoke them all. He had not slept, but then he never slept. When all the others lay down for rest, he lay down, too, but what he did was not the same as what they did. He did not fully understand why he was different from the others, but he knew that he was. There were none here like him, so far as he could tell. He did not believe his fellow workers were even aware that he was different, so he kept to himself.

His efforts to remain apart were aided by his unwillingness to join the others in the communal shower. His stomach was abnormal, and it would lead to questions. There was a strange opening in it, and he had seen many of the men here with their shirts off, and not one of them had anything similar. As he walked towards the food line, it felt as if something moved within him, and he paused, his hand on his gut. Sometimes he thought that there was another creature within him, but that made no sense. Ignoring the sensations, he got into line for the morning meal.

He had only been here for a few days, so he did not know the names of everyone around him, but he believed that the woman spooning up the food for them was called Kegan. He took his bowl and his bread and nodded to her before walking on to find a place to sit and eat. There was an open spot on a nearby piece of equipment so he sat and began eating.

People got food and moved along. He watched without much interest. Kegan was selective in who she gave bread to. People who didn’t receive any paused, waiting, then went on. Tor wasn’t surprised that she didn’t give anything to the blond woman who had come in the same day he had. There was talk all over the plant about the argument the two of them had the day before.

What did surprise him was that when she did not get any bread, the blond woman, Thera, did not just give in and go away.

“Where’s my bread?” she asked.

“We’re out,” Kegan said.

Thera glared at the other woman but moved on despite the fact that there was bread visible on the tray behind Kegan. She walked over and sat down next to an older man, the oldest man in the plant.

“Why didn’t you insist on her giving you the bread?” the man asked, sounding impatient. Teal’c watched them with interest. Something niggled at him, something familiar. They’d all come from the mines. Perhaps he knew them there, but the mineral damaged memory.

“I didn’t want to keep anyone else waiting,” Thera said. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters,” the man said.

“Jonah, don’t make a fuss. She doesn’t like me. I can live with that.”

The man got up. “I’ll go and get you your bread.”

Thera caught his arm. “No, Jonah. It’s fine.”

Reluctantly, the man sat back down. “I’m not going to put up with it much longer, Thera.”

“You can put up with it, Jonah, because it’s the way things are. She won’t always be on the food line. She doesn’t serve us lunch.” She shook her head. “It’s okay. If you really want to make it up to me, split yours with me.”

Jonah broke his bread in half and they settled to eating. Tor looked over at Kegan. She was giving bread to everyone, but now Supervisor Brenna was watching. The meal was too little, but there was nothing to do but tighten his belt. He stood up, placed his bowl in the pile with the others and started to work.

* * *

Daniel ignored breakfast and lunch. He couldn’t stomach food knowing what he’d just set Jack up for, and for nothing. He’d barely gotten out the front door before being grabbed. The fact that Jack would have told him to do it made no difference to how Daniel felt.

He sat on the bed, his back to the wall, his knees pulled up to his chest. Calder had him flat over a barrel. There was nothing he could do. Sam, Jack and Teal’c were hostage to his behavior, and he couldn’t . . . wouldn’t risk it again. He couldn’t face it if something happened to one of them because he fought back at the wrong moment.

The door opened and he looked up. It wasn’t the boy come to take his lunch tray, it was two guards. They grabbed him and dragged him along the corridors to Calder’s room with what felt like haste.

“Get him onto the bed,” Calder ordered. “Now!”

Daniel didn’t fight as the men roughly stripped the clothes from him. Jack wasn’t here. He wasn’t going to do anything to make it more likely that they’d bring him. Calder jittered impatiently while they got him bound to his satisfaction. Anger rolled off Calder in waves, and Daniel wasn’t sure what was causing it. He didn’t think his abortive escape attempt would still be having so strong an effect this long after the fact.

He wound up face up on the bed, his butt held up in the air by a wedge-shaped pillow. Calder was on him almost instantly, nearly savage in his urgency and rage. He barely took the time to lubricate him before he rammed in, pounding in a way that made Daniel shift upwards on the bed. Daniel stared into his face, trying to see what was the cause, but Calder’s anger didn’t seem to be directed towards his victim.

Daniel lay there, motionless, while Calder attacked him ferociously. Calder spent himself inside Daniel’s body, then thumped off the bed. “Take him,” he ordered.

“Sir?” the guard asked, sounding a little startled.

“You heard me. The Council is demanding that he be sent below with the others. Take him.”

Daniel listened in astonishment. Down below? With the others? Would he be stamped?

“Sir, should we let him get cleaned up first?”

“Yes,” Calder snapped irritably. “Let him bathe, get him clothed and then take him!” They got Daniel off the bed and started to hustle him out of the room, but Calder called out for them to wait as they started to leave. He walked up to Daniel, took his chin in his hand and gave him a long, hard kiss. When he drew back, he glared into Daniel’s baffled eyes. “Don’t think you have escaped me, Daniel. I will have you again, I promise you that.” He looked at the guards. “Take him.’

The guards took him to the bathing room where he got cleaned up. They provided him with clothes and took him from the apartment. Daniel was in shock. He still felt stretched from this most recent attack, but they were taking him through the halls of the administration building. He should try to escape, to reach Griff and his team, but he couldn’t make his legs work properly. They took him to a medical room and strapped him to a table and left him there.

Someone else came in and gave him a shot. Daniel wondered who he’d be when he woke up.

* * *

Brenna gazed in shocked dismay at the body of the man she’d been given. They had delivered him, still dressed in clothes from above, to the stamping facility, knocked him out and alerted her to his presence. The file had reached her before she reached him, so she knew that this was the fourth stranger. She had to prepare a stamp for him, but it would be simple. There were no unusual demands placed on her for him. One of the standard stamps could be altered very slightly to fit his personality.

But the first step in bringing a new worker in was redressing them for the part, so she had stripped off his garments to find that he was a patchwork of bruises and . . . and bite marks. Administrator Calder had told her he was serving in a different capacity. Now she knew just what capacity he had been made to serve in, and she found herself nauseated. It was not her place to judge the administrator, but there were things that were wrong and this was one of them.

Grimacing, she pulled the pants up over the handprints on his buttocks and hoped he wouldn’t get too many questions in the showers. After all, he wouldn’t remember where the marks came from. She might have to come up with an explanation to go in his stamp to help him deal with it.

She finished dressing him and started putting his stamp together. It would probably be better for him that he wouldn’t remember what had happened, and at least down here he’d have productive tasks rather than rounds of abuse.

The process continued, she gave his stamp to the technicians who applied it. While she waited for the young man to wake up, she contemplated what tasks he could be set to. Unlike the other three, he had no known experience with any kind of machinery and was not exceptionally strong. Perhaps, after a time, she could get him transferred to a less dangerous facility. Perhaps the nursery. She’d have to watch him to see if he seemed a likely candidate for working with the children.

For the time being, though, she had to put him into some position in her plant. According to his file, he was in the profession of digging up ancient bones and artifacts, which, to her mind, suggested that his hands were probably strong and deft. He could be placed on one of the teams that serviced valves and such until she got a better feel for what he might be skilled at. As she considered this, she realized that he might prove to be the solution for another problem she’d been having. Kegan couldn’t get along with women, but she was an excellent teacher. Of late, she’d been very abrasive and difficult to deal with because she felt slighted by her transfer from Section 23. If Brenna gave her the responsibility of looking after this new man, told her that he would need some extra care, it might help her to get past whatever malaise she was feeling.

That would put him on Section 25, which was fine. She didn’t dare put him on 23, 19, or 22 because that’s where his friends were. She didn’t altogether understand why Administrator Calder had sent all four of them to the same facility. It struck her as unwise, but, again, he was the administrator. It was not her place to question his judgment. That answer was growing more and more difficult to accept as time went by, but her new man started to move, putting other thoughts out of her mind.

Brenna stood and walked over to him. He blinked up at her, his blue eyes full of confusion. “What – where –”

“It’s all right, Carlin,” she said. “You’re at the power plant, you’ve been transferred.”

He sat up and looked around, wincing slightly as if in pain. “I have?”

“Yes. I’m Brenna, supervisor here.”

He smiled tentatively. “Hello, Brenna.” He started to move again, but stopped, clearly not comfortable. “I . . . what’s wrong with me?”

“You were . . . hurt . . . by one of the other workers in your previous placement,” she said. “Your soreness should pass.”

There was a flash of understanding in his eyes and then distress. “I think . . . I think I . . . I remember something.” Intense trauma could break through a stamp, especially this early. She couldn’t risk it.

She put a hand very gently on his shoulder. “It’s all right if you don’t remember anything, Carlin. It would be better if you didn’t.” At this stage after as deep a stamp as she’d used, he would be very suggestible. “Let’s get you to our sick room. You’ll be on light duty for a few days till some of your hurts heal.”

“Of course, Supervisor Brenna,” he said.

“Just Brenna will do, Carlin,” she replied, and he smiled. There was something very sweet in that smile, and she smiled back. “Don’t worry, you’ll be ready to work in a few days, and then you’ll join Section 25.”

“Thank you, Brenna,” he said. “It is my honor to serve.” She took him to the sick room and left him in the care of Dolman, to whom she explained the barest outlines of what had happened to him. The infirmarian nodded, his brown eyes warming with sympathy.

Brenna then gave orders for Kegan to be brought to her office. The young woman came in, looking hostile to start out with. Brenna really didn’t want to have to give her a mid-term stamp. She was so young.

“Kegan, I have a task for you that I think you’ll be uniquely suited for,” she said.

“Yes?” Kegan began to look a little bit less sour.

“We have a new worker, a man named Carlin.” Kegan nodded. “He has limited experience with machinery, so he will need a great deal of training.” This brought a light into the girl’s eyes. “And he will need to be gently handled. He was hurt badly by a fellow worker in his last position.”

“Why was he hurt?” Kegan asked. “What did he do?”

Brenna grimaced. “He didn’t do anything wrong. One of his co-workers was night sick, and . . .” Kegan was nodding, so Brenna let the lie trail off, allowing Kegan to draw her own conclusions. “He doesn’t remember anything, so please don’t discuss it with him. Just be aware that he might be a bit fragile at first. At the moment I’ve put him on light duty in the sick room, but when Dolman releases him, I want you to take him for training.”

“Yes, Brenna. It is my honor to serve.” Kegan went out and Brenna sighed. Things were getting very complicated.

* * *

The gate was open to P3R-118, and General Hammond could see Major Griff on the screen amid snow, both physical and electrical, but they were having communication problems. He’d known that the UAV was the weakest link in this glacial search, it just wasn’t designed for such frigid conditions. Finally, Sgt. Harriman turned and nodded to let him know that they’d patched audio in again.

He leaned forward slightly. “Major, what’s your status?”

Griff was wrapped so tightly that all Hammond could see was his eyes, the tip of his nose and his mouth as he shouted over the sound of the wind. “We’ve lost the UAV, and we’re getting back now. But I have to tell you, sir, it doesn’t look good. This place is pretty nasty.”

Hammond grimaced. “No sign of them?” Jack O’Neill had been known to go off half-cocked in the past, and his two scientists were extremely persuasive people. He couldn’t dismiss out of hand the notion that they might have gone out to explore the glacier if they’d seen some scientific sense in it, even without letting him know in advance. Still, it just didn’t sit right. Jack was a better officer than that. He would have contacted the SGC to let them know of a plan that dramatic.

“Nothing I could see,” Griff said. “I’ll explain more when I get there, sir.”

“Very well, major,” Hammond said. “SGC out.”

Harriman shut the gate down, and Hammond returned to his office, dissatisfied with what he’d been told. It was difficult to be certain, but he had the distinct impression that Griff wasn’t comfortable being explicit while still on 118. It could just have been a desire to get out of the cold more quickly, but Hammond didn’t think so.

He steepled his fingers. It didn’t do to count SG-1 out. They’d been reported or declared dead more times than any other team, but they always turned up alive in the end. Trouble was, the reports Major Carter had submitted had people in the Pentagon salivating. Some of the metallurgical processes these people had perfected could revolutionize the production of weapons and armor, and if they had as low an ecological impact as Major Carter seemed to think they would, it would make everyone happy.

He didn’t think the Pentagon would sacrifice the SGC’s number one team for technological advances, but Administrator Calder had offered them an out. They could be presumed dead, honor could be paid to their memory, and Washington still could get what it wanted. Hammond was damned if he was going to let it be that easy.

He got to work on the roster of missions. That was always harder when he had a team overdue. Sending teams out was always difficult, he never knew whether he’d see those bright people again, or if he did, whether they’d be maimed or disabled, or if they’d have a different intelligence behind their eyes. When someone else was missing, though, it got immeasurably harder.

It was several hours before Sgt. Harriman called out the scheduled wormhole from 118. Hammond rose and went down to the gateroom to await the return of Griff and his team. When they came through, they were still wearing their snowsuits, hoods pulled up and bundled in tight, which surprised Hammond somewhat. He’d have thought they’d loosen their clothing a bit in the warmth of the city.

Griff came straight towards him while the others headed for the medical team that he’d ordered to be ready for their return. Ice and snow could have unfortunate effects on a person’s anatomy.

“Major?” he said by way of greeting when Griff stopped in front of him. His nose looked as if the freezing temperatures had gotten to it, but he seemed to feel his report was more important.

Griff shook his head. “I’m sorry sir. There’s no sign of them.” Behind him, the gate disengaged, the brilliant blue energy dissipating in an instant.

“I understand,” Hammond said. He’d hoped for more detail. “You and your team have been out there a long time . . .” he started, but Griff interrupted him before he could send him to the infirmary.

“No sir, when I say there’s no sign I mean literally not a trace,” Griff said with certainty.

“What are you saying, Major?” Hammond asked with growing suspicion.

“I can’t imagine what scientific reason Major Carter or Doctor Jackson might have had to want to check out those ice fields,” he said sourly, and Hammond blinked. He knew Griff couldn’t just be guessing. In his graduate studies, he’d focused, in part, on the science of glacial geology. It was one of the reasons he’d selected SG-2 for this mission. Griff wasn’t done, though. “But even if they wanted to go out there,” he said, “there’s no way in hell Colonel O'Neill would have let them!”

Hammond considered carefully. “According to Administrator Calder, Colonel O'Neill believed the risk was acceptable.”

Griff looked more than a little disgusted by this response. “I can’t speak to that, sir, I’m not a diplomat.”

“Off the record,” Hammond said.

This seemed to be what Griff was waiting for. “They’re not out there, sir,” he said definitely. “No way!”

“Administrator Calder says they are,” Hammond said mildly.

Griff glowered. “Then I’d say he’s a damn liar!”

Hammond nodded grimly and gestured for Griff to follow his team to the infirmary. This tallied with his own impressions of the smarmy Administrator Calder and left him with a whole new can of worms. He went upstairs to contact the Pentagon.


	17. Chapter 17

Jonah was getting tired of these damned dreams. Every night he dreamed about following Thera – sometimes he had to search pretty hard for her – and every time he caught her she turned into a brown-haired blue-eyed man who gave him everything of himself. It didn’t make sense. He wasn’t interested in men. He looked at the men around him, some of whom were probably pretty good-looking specimens, but not one of them did anything for him. He looked at the women, and quite a few of them made him feel that . . . that way. He looked at Thera and nearly had a meltdown. Why would he be dreaming of this man?

Thera had already gotten her food, and she had bread, which surprised him. Had Kegan . . . no Kegan wasn’t dishing up the food today, it was Wyma. He looked around for Kegan and caught sight of her with a man, coming out of the sick room. He stared in utter astonishment, not at Kegan, but at the man. As always, no name came to mind, but he knew that man. It was the man from his dream. It was the man whose body he had lusted after nightly since he’d come here. How was that possible?

His body reacted to the sight of him in a way that Jonah was not about to accept. He turned his attention immediately to Thera, and for once, it wasn’t enough to distract him from troubling thoughts. He shook his head and narrowed his focus. Work and Thera. Thera and work. That was all he needed to think about.

And food.

And there was an itch on the bottom of his foot.

How did he know that man?

* * *

Tor found himself deeply troubled by the new man. Combined with the other two who seemed so familiar to him, he brought up memories that made no sense. Walking with them on green grass, eating extraordinary food with them, being saved by them, saving them. None of it made sense.

He tried to put it out of his mind and concentrate on his tasks.

His mind kept working on it though, refusing to let it go. Carlin, Thera and . . . and . . . Jonah.   It was the wrong name. They were all the wrong names. His name was wrong. Tor . . . it was not right. The day passed uneasily, and he did not know what to think. He was glad the next morning when he was set to working at a task that kept him away from the others. Without them in his sight, it was easier not to think of them as . . .

He shoveled the ore into the burner, closing his thoughts to anything but making certain that his load got to the center of the heat.

* * *

Brenna was worried. The tensions developing in the plant were not good, and it was all surrounding the four new people. She didn’t think most of the workers had picked up on it, but the group of them were circling each other oddly. Thera and Jonah were joined at the hip, though not by Thera’s choice. She didn’t seem to object, but she seemed bemused by the attention, as if she didn’t understand its cause.

Jonah also now spent a great deal of time staring at Carlin, and Brenna was disturbed by the intensity of his gaze. Had some part of his memory remained, something that recognized Carlin as his missing man? If so, that could be incredibly dangerous.

She would have to make it work for a little while at least. Administrator Calder had insisted that they all be located in this plant. She couldn’t suggest transferring any of them until enough time had passed. She just hoped they wouldn’t do anything dreadful.

* * *

Carlin was glad he had Kegan to help him learn the ways of this place. She was smart, she was funny, and she took care of him. The rest of the people on Section 25 seemed a little scary to him, at least at first. The only thing he remembered for sure about his last assignment was a feeling of fear and anger . . . he shook his head

He wanted to leave that behind. Brenna had said it would be better if he forgot, and that meant not trying to remember what had happened. That meant joining in here, getting to know the new people all around him. He just found the whole idea somewhat intimidating. Kegan helped him with that, telling him who was friendly and who was not.

“Don’t get too close to Arven,” she said, pointing at a large man with barely any hair. He had a mean look.

“Don’t think I would, but why?”

“He has a temper,” she said. “And he’ll take it out anyone who gets in his way.”

“Glad to know that,” Carlin said, gazing anxiously at him. “Anyone else?”

“Mevor, the foreman of Section 23, she’ll stab you in the back as soon as look at you.”

Daniel looked over at the dark-haired woman as she ate her evening meal. She seemed peaceful enough, talking to the woman next to her. “You mean literally?”

“Don’t be an idiot, Carlin!” Kegan exclaimed, but her tone wasn’t unkind, just exasperated. She gave him a playful smack on the shoulder and he winced a little. She’d struck on one of those strange little bruises that covered his body. “Sorry,” she said hastily. “Did I hurt you?”

“Not really,” he replied. “So you mean she’s just likely to . . . what?”

“Tell tales,” Kegan said. “You really have lost a lot, haven’t you?” Carlin shrugged. “It’s okay. Some of it will probably come back, and what don’t come back, well, you probably didn’t need it anyway.”

“Right,” Carlin said.

Kegan looked around the room. “Let’s see, Arven, Mevor . . . those girls over there are always laughing at people, but I guess there’s no harm to them.” Daniel looked and nodded, imprinting the faces in his mind. “Tofan is a good guy, and so is Leryn.” She went through most of the crowd around them, and Carlin learned the names and faces as best he could.

Finally, he pointed at a couple of people in the corner. An older man and a woman, sitting close together, eating without talking. He didn’t know how to put a finger on it, but they were not sitting close because they didn’t have a lot of space, they were a unit somehow. “What about those two?”

“Not them,” Kegan said, her voice gone harsh. “She thinks she’s better than the rest of us, and he thinks she’s perfect.”

Carlin nodded. Such a lot of people to get to know. He’d only been here three days, and most of that had been spent in the sick room.

“Sections 17 through 25 odd, take the showers,” called a voice from above, and Carlin looked up nervously. He hadn’t cleaned up publicly yet, and he dreaded questions about the marks that covered his body.

“It’ll be okay, Carlin. I’ll be with you,” Kegan said.

“You don’t know, Kegan,” he said miserably. “I’m . . . somebody did some pretty bad stuff to me. I’ve got bruises all over everywhere.”

“Brenna said it’s not your fault, and that’s all there is to be said about it,” Kegan said firmly, pulling him to his feet. She found him a corner and fended off questions while he washed himself.

* * *

Jonah couldn’t help noticing that the new man, Carlin, was covered in ugly bruises. Somebody had done a number on him. He paused in his thinking. Done a number? Where had that phrase come from? He shook his head. Must be an expression.

Regardless, they didn’t look like the leavings of a beating. He edged closer, keeping an eye on Thera while trying to get a better look at Carlin. It looked like . . . he blinked in shock. It looked like he’d had some kind of rough sex with somebody. One of those bruises was actually between his ass cheeks.

“What are you doing?” Arven demanded. Faced with a large angry man, Jonah turned away.

“Sorry, got distracted,” he said.

“Don’t.”

Thera leaned close as he moved back towards her. “He’s friendly, isn’t he?” she said ironically.

“I don’t want him getting friendly,” Jonah replied, glancing at him. Thera looked at Jonah with wide innocent eyes, and he shook his head. She could be so clueless. “Don’t worry about it.”

She ducked her head under the water and walked out of the shower room, and Jonah followed her. They dried off and got dressed. They weren’t the first done, nor the last, and Jonah wasn’t ready for sleep. He saw Thera to her bed then started on a walk around the dorm. He got so cramped up over his work that he had to walk to loosen himself up.

When he was pretty far away from where everyone else was dossing out, he heard someone behind him and turned sharply. It was Kegan, the little bitch who would never give Thera her bread. “What do you want?” he demanded.

“I saw you looking at Carlin in the shower,” she said, glaring up at him. “You stay away from him. He doesn’t need the likes of you bothering him.”

“The likes of me?” Jonah exclaimed. “What about you? Vindictive little –”

“What’s going on here?” They both turned to find Brenna walking towards them. “Aren’t you supposed to be with Carlin, Kegan?” she asked.

“Yes, Brenna,” Kegan said, eyes wide. “It’s an honor to serve.” She hurried off and Jonah looked uncertainly at Brenna. If she knew what Kegan was doing, it wouldn’t help things to mention it, and if she didn’t, then why the hell didn’t she?

“What are you doing way over here, Jonah? Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I need to stretch out a bit after the day,” he said. “Isn’t it allowed?”

“No, it’s fine. I just wanted to know.” She nodded and walked on. Jonah watched her go. She seemed to be a reasonably good supervisor, but Kegan’s little game with the bread couldn’t go on. And what did she mean, ‘the likes of him’? She didn’t know him from Adam. He blinked. Who was Adam? Shaking his head, he finished his walk. Must be an expression.

* * *

Morning came and Jonah sat up warily. He didn’t know what was going on in his head. That was the strongest dream yet. He glanced around, but no one seemed to have noticed his upstanding little citizen. Well, not so little. But he didn’t understand. Why did Carlin make him feel . . . both turned on and protective? He felt the same way about Carlin as he did about Thera, but he didn’t think he’d ever met Carlin before.

Kegan must know what had happened to the kid, and saw Jonah as a threat. He shrugged and got up for work. Long day ahead, he needed his nourishment.

* * *

Tor was feeling more and more chaotic and confused. Memories were shooting at him from all directions, memories that made no sense. He did not understand it. He headed towards the food line with the others, but he kept looking around at the men and women around him. None of them seemed any more familiar than the others, with the exception of Thera, Carlin and Jonah, and he felt as if he had known them for years.

“Colleagues!” called Brenna from the platform outside her office. “Your attention please!” The others all gathered to stand below her, but Tor . . . Tor wasn’t his name. He shook his head. He didn’t move from where he’d been standing, trying to get a grasp on the flow of memories in his mind, but it was all as slippery as a greased wrench. Brenna was still speaking. He walked over slowly and listened. “. . . heat the greenhouses for the next two months. Special merit to the workers of Section 23!” Teal’c looked around uncertainly as the others cheered. The ones who cheered the loudest were the members of Section 23. “Let us use this not as an excuse to work less but as motivation to work harder.” They all gazed at her with rapt attention, but Tor . . . Tor didn’t know what to think. “Our world may be covered in ice but one day we will reclaim our place on the surface!”

“It is my honor to serve,” came the chorus, but Tor did not join it. It was wrong. He looked around him. Everything was wrong. As the others moved towards the food line, he stayed where he was. The three he knew wound up together in the line, and Tor gazed at them, trying to remember what it was he had forgotten. It suddenly seemed incredibly important.

Kegan was on the food line again, and she was back to her foolish game with the bread. As always, most of them ignored it, but Thera stopped. She was clearly exasperated, and that, too, called memories to mind. “Kegan, how about some bread?” Thera said, and in Tor’s mind he saw an image of Thera looking at another man, at a strange human, and then speaking angrily. There was no sound, but she seemed very agitated.

“Sorry, just gave away the last piece,” Kegan said, drawing him back to the present. Tor found her behavior annoying and inexplicable, but Jonah seemed to be reaching the end of his patience.

“Oh here we go, every time!” Jonah said loudly. A few of the others peered around, seeming to know what was going on and agree with Jonah, but the new man, Carlin, just looked confused.

“What is your problem?” Thera demanded.

Kegan shrugged. “I don’t have a problem!”

“And we don’t have any bread!” Thera said angrily.

Carlin leaned around. “Is there a problem here?” he asked.

Jonah glared at him, eyes narrowed. “Stay out of this!” he snarled, and it seemed incredibly wrong to Tor . . . Tor was wrong . . . T . . .

“Jonah, there are other people waiting!” Carlin protested, but Jonah didn’t hear him, so focused was he on Kegan.

Jonah grabbed Kegan’s arm. “Give her the damned bread!”

Carlin took hold of O’Neill’s hand . . . O’Neill? Tor . . T . . . he stood staring, memories bombarding him as the man he knew as O’Neill threw Carlin over his shoulder to the ground and then leapt on him. Memories of O’Neill and . . . and DanielJackson doing anything and everything for each other, each giving whatever it took to keep the other safe.

He ran towards them, shoving people aside, and dragged O’Neill off of DanielJackson. “This is not right! The two of you are friends, O'Neill!”

O’Neill struggled against his grip. “Stay out of it!

Holding on tightly, but not so tightly that he would break bones, Tor said, “We are part of something called SG-1.” Another memory shot into his mind. “I am Teal'c. Do you not remember?”

DanielJackson had gotten to his feet and was staring at them incredulously.

“Somebody get this guy off me!” Jonah shouted, and several men dragged Teal’c away from the leader of SG-1. He had to get through to him. To them. He had to make them understand. Make them believe. O’Neill backed away and bumped into DanielJackson, and they shifted apart, glaring at each other. Samantha Carter was also staring at Teal’c as if she thought there was something wrong with him. What had been done to all of them? How had this situation come about?

Brenna came forward and Teal’c realized when she looked at him that she knew what was going on. Her eyes were full of hidden knowledge. “Get him upstairs!” she ordered.

“We don’t belong here!” Teal’c shouted. The men started dragging him away. Teal’c fought back, but there were too many of them. “You must remember!” Teal’c yelled, straining to get through to them. “We must escape!!”

They took him into Brenna’s office and shoved him down to his knees. One of them grabbed a pair of binders and snapped them around his wrists. A few moments later, Brenna came in. “Is he secured?” she asked.

“Yes, Brenna, but –”

“You may go.”

“But Brenna, he is very strong, and –”

“I will take care of it,” Brenna said and the men reluctantly left, shutting the door behind them.

Teal’c rose to his feet and glared at the woman. “I will not tolerate –” As he spoke, though, she pressed something on her desk and the wall behind her began to slide away. “I know what is going on here,” he said angrily, stalking towards her, but before he’d gotten very far, two of the red-uniformed guards came in and grabbed him.

He shook one off and slammed the other into the wall. Brenna went to the door and called for reinforcements, and Teal’c went down, inevitably. Strength and training could only do so much against superior numbers.

They wrestled him out of the room and into another that he recognized. They bound him to the table and left him there. Brenna walked up, looking very worried. “Tor, you are –”

“I am not Tor!” he growled. “I am Teal’c, and you know that, do you not?”

“You must be Tor,” she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and looking down at him very seriously. “I cannot protect you if you are not Tor, and you will be killed before Administrator Calder allows you to escape.”

“I cannot accept that!” he snarled up at her. “You must release me.”

“I am sorry, Teal’c, but I can’t.” She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a syringe.

“You do not understand!” he shouted. “O’Neill just attacked DanielJackson! That would never happen. O’Neill would never harm DanielJackson, and he just began to beat him. You have done something terrible to them. You must stop!”

“Trust me, there are worse things that could happen to them,” she said. “Some of them have already happened.” She bared his arm and swabbed it with something cold. “I will look after them, and they will not be permitted to fight again.”

“You must release us,” Teal’c insisted. She stuck the needle in his arm. “We must return to Earth. There are people who will come looking for us.”

“I hope so,” she said, and he blinked at her, startled by the absolute sincerity he saw in her. She stroked his cheek sympathetically. “Now sleep, Teal’c.”

He fought the drug, his symbiote fought the drug, but she must have been warned to give him a high dose, because he fell unconscious before he could say anything else.


	18. Chapter 18

Carlin found his job very difficult. He lay down in bed and glanced over at Kegan in a nearby bunk. She was a good teacher, but he was having trouble learning what to do. It didn’t help that his thoughts kept returning to what Tor had said about his being friends with Jonah, though that hadn’t been the name Tor had used for the man. Carlin couldn’t quite remember the name, which seemed odd to him, because he could remember the names of every other person here, even the ones Kegan had only pointed out to him once.

“Go to sleep, Carlin,” Kegan said, leaning up to reach over and stroke his arm gently. “You need your rest.”

“I’m trying,” he said, and he rolled over on his back. Taking a deep breath, he cleared his mind for sleep.

* * *

_He was in a concrete room that he knew was underground, but it wasn’t the plant or the mines, or anywhere else that he recognized as part of his world. The ceiling was high, higher even than the one in the plant, and there was a huge circle of glowing light. It looked like water, but it wasn’t. A ramp led up to it, and he felt a great yearning to walk towards it, but something held him back._

_He didn’t know what it was. He turned his back on it and found himself in a small room with a window. He started towards the window, but hands took hold of him from behind, forcing his arms back and up, binding them with something hard and metal. The men dragged him through a confused array of images that flowed past too quickly for him to anchor on any of them. They wound up in a room full of beautiful things that Carlin knew. Carlin recognized this place and fear suffused him. The men stripped his clothes off him, and there was a confusion of images again, and he found himself face down on the bed, his rump in the air. Someone was behind him, about to . . . about to . . ._

_He screamed, begging for it to stop._

* * *

Jonah woke up, unsure of what woke him, but certain that something was wrong. He sat up and looked around. Movement on one of the beds caught his attention. It was Carlin, making those odd, abortive movements that people make when they’re caught in a bad dream.

Jonah rose and ghosted over to him. It wouldn’t do to wake anyone else up. Carlin would probably be embarrassed enough to have woken him up. He put a hand on Carlin’s shoulder, and the man pulled away, making an unhappy sound.

“Carlin, wake up,” Jonah hissed softly.

“No, stop!” Carlin moaned, and Jonah shook him lightly.

“Wake up, it’s a –”

Carlin came awake all of a sudden and looked at him. From the glazed look in his eyes, Jonah could tell he didn’t see him but some figure from his nightmare. He let out a hoarse cry and thrust himself back away from Jonah. “No!”

“Get away from him!” Hands thrust him aside and Kegan climbed onto the bed with Carlin. Taking him gently in her arms, she murmured, “It’s okay, Carlin, no one’s going to hurt you.” She glared at Jonah. Carlin sank weeping into her embrace.

He backed away. Clearly Carlin wasn’t going to react well to him. Maybe not to any man. It did shed new light on the marks all over his body. If they came from some kind of attack . . . of course, Jonah did throw him a couple of days ago, so maybe he wasn’t on Carlin’s list of friends. Creeping back to his bed, he climbed in.

* * *

Carlin was learning something about pumps when the door to Brenna’s office opened and Tor walked out. He watched him start towards the stairs, then Kegan spoke sharply. “Carlin!”

He looked back at Kegan. “Where’s he been for five days?”

She followed his glance and said, “Recovering from night sickness.” He knit his brows, not sure what she meant. Kegan shrugged. “It’s a strange thing. There was this guy once, a couple of years ago who tried to smash his way through one of those skylights.” She pointed with her tool.

Carlin followed the direction and blinked. He hadn’t really noticed those, and he wondered what lay beyond them. “Did he do it?” he asked.

Kegan stared at him like he was nuts. “You would have known if he had,” she said. “This place would have been buried under ice and snow and you would have frozen to death along with everyone else.”

Carlin looked back up at the skylight and sighed. “Right,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Now, we’ve got to get to work. What did I say this was?”

He bit his lip, aware that he had not been paying attention. “It’s a pump,” he said hopefully.

She rolled her eyes. “You are gonna drive me crazy!” she said, but the grin she said it with softened the words. “These pumps regulate the overflow,” she said, speaking slowly, as if to a dimwitted child. “You understand?”

“Yes, Kegan,” Carlin said. “And . . .”

“Sometimes they get clogged and you have to clean them out.” She flipped up the top and showed him how, but Carlin still couldn’t help wondering about Tor and what was going on with him. He’d said they knew each other, that Carlin was friends with Jonah. And Thera, too, maybe. He wasn’t clear on that. It was all too confusing. “Come on, Carlin,” Kegan said. “We got work to do.”

They went from pump to pump, checking them and cleaning them out when necessary. Finally, they finished up and it was time to clean the tools they’d used. After a while, he noticed movement on Brenna’s platform again. Thera walked up to the door and knocked, some kind of writing thing in her hands. Not much interested, Carlin started examining his tool.

“There she goes,” Kegan said with contempt. “Why does Brenna listen to her?”

Carlin shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, still looking at the tool. “She seems pretty smart.”

“She thinks she’s better than the rest of us,” Kegan said quietly. Carlin found his gaze pulled to Thera’s shadow, Jonah, who was working a ways off. Kegan looked, too, her expression unfriendly. “They both do.”

Carlin pursed his lips and looked at the man contemplatively. “Teal'c said we were friends.”

Kegan let out an exasperated sigh. “His name’s not Teal’c it’s Tor,” she said firmly. “Night sickness.” Carlin looked at her and shrugged, getting back to work.

He kept sneaking looks at Jonah, though. What if they were friends? What did it mean? And what did Tor or Teal’c or whatever his name was mean about escaping? Where would they go?

After a while, Thera came out of Brenna’s office, her step light and her hands free. Evidently Brenna had liked what she had seen. He saw Kegan look up and glare and wondered what Thera had done to make her so angry. Occasionally he thought Kegan judged people too harshly, but he wasn’t ready to tell her that.

Night came, and it was a shower night. He was less nervous now, but still uneasy. The bruises had faded considerably, but they still made him uncomfortable. Memories bubbled close to the surface when he was naked in front of others. Kegan said he had nightmares, but he didn’t remember them. He didn’t want to.

After he was clean, he lay down and slept.

* * *

_He was back in the concrete room, the blue light behind him. He turned to look, realizing that this time he was on the edge of the ramp. It felt very real, very normal to him. He knew that there were many rooms beyond this one, all as clean and light as this one, and full of people._

_He didn’t understand. Jonah walked out of nowhere past him and up the ramp. There he stopped, looking back.  “Go ahead,” Jonah said._

_Carlin just stared, confused. “Go where?” he asked. There didn’t seem to be anywhere to go, but he knew . . . he thought he knew . . . that there was something more than he was comprehending._

_“The other side,” Jonah said, and Carlin knew Jonah meant that he should go through the pool of light._

_“Carlin!” Kegan called, and Carlin looked behind him, surprised to see her. She didn’t fit here. Jonah did, somehow, but she didn’t. “Don’t listen to him!”_

_He turned back to Jonah, alarmed but still wanting to know, needing to know . . ._

* * *

His eyes opened suddenly and he sat up. The dorm. The other workers were all here. He lay back, thinking about the dream. It was strange. After a few moments, he sat up and looked around. Kegan lay sleeping near him, Jonah and Thera a few beds off. Putting his head in his hands, he tried to think. Jonah had told him to go through that pool of light, but it was only a dream. He shook his head. It had felt so real, but dreams could do that. The pool of light made him feel a sense of purpose, of dedication, something he had trouble capturing in his work on pumps. What was going on? Was he going off his rocker? He blinked, trying to grasp the meaning of that word . . . rocker . . . nothing came, but he knew it was a word and that it had a meaning. A simple meaning that would be obvious if he could just remember it.

Things were not as simple as they seemed here, he was beginning to be convinced of it. Something was going on, but he couldn’t tell what. Taking a deep breath, he let out a frustrated sigh. Answers wouldn’t walk up to him and slap him in the face. He resolved to find them, even if it meant facing the memories that slumbered under the surface of his mind.

When he found a break in his day, Carlin wandered over to where Tor was shoveling ore into the furnace. Picking up a piece of ore and fidgeting with it, he gathered his courage. “What happened?” he asked, gesturing at the bandage around Tor’s gut.

Tor barely looked at him. “I was injured.”

“When?” Carlin asked.

Tor didn’t look up, but his voice was a growl. “Why are you speaking to me?”

Carlin walked around the ore cart Tor was shoveling out of so that he was more in front of the man than behind him. “I just thought . . . uh . . . since apparently we’re friends from way back . . .” He paused and Tor didn’t seem to respond. “I just thought that . . . what is that thing on your forehead?”

“A birthmark,” Tor said shortly.

“A birthmark?” Carlin looked at him. It was odd, most of the men here scared him at least a little, but as big as Tor was, as intimidating, Carlin didn’t find him scary in the least. “You’d think I’d remember something like that,” he added.

“I don’t know you!”

Carlin was getting annoyed. “You said you did, last week during morning line up.”

Tor tossed some more ore into the furnace. “I wasn’t here last week.” He kept working, as if trying to ignore Carlin.

“You said we were friends and you said we had to escape, and I’d really like an explanation.”

Tor stopped and glared at him. “I said no such thing.”

Carlin met his gaze for a long moment, but there was nothing in Tor’s eyes that suggested he believed he wasn’t telling anything other than the truth. “All right, I’m obviously completely wrong about that!”

“Yes,” Tor said firmly. “Don’t talk to me again.”

“Yeah, right,” Carlin muttered, tossing the piece of ore into the furnace.

He went over to join Kegan, kneeling down next to the generator she was working on. Sounding tired, she said, “I told you to leave him alone.”

“He was there Kegan,” Carlin said heatedly. He rubbed his forehead, frustration consuming him. “You heard him! Why would he deny that?”

She sighed. “Night sickness affects your mind.”

“That doesn’t explain the dreams I’ve had.” Kegan didn’t meet his eyes, and he grimaced. “Something is wrong here, Kegan,” he said. “Something’s not –”

“Carlin!” Kegan exclaimed, glancing around as she interrupted. He grimaced, falling silent. “It’s bad enough he named you as part of his delusion,” she said earnestly. “Now people here you talking like this they’re going to think you’re night sick!”

His eyes narrowed. “People?” he asked suspiciously.

She stared at him, shocked. “Not that I would ever . . . Carlin . . .”

He shook his head. “No. No. No, of course not!” He forced a laugh and looked away. “It’s just a dream!” Kegan reached out and rubbed his back. She played with his hair for a second, smiling encouragingly at him, then squeezed his shoulder again as she returned to work. Carlin just couldn’t accept it. It was such an intense, such a real dream. There had to be something to it.

After several more minutes, he looked over at her again. “Kegan?”

“What, Carlin?”

“If people knew I was having these dreams, these nightmares, would they think I was night sick?”

She shrugged. “A couple of people do know about them,” she replied. “And people have bad dreams, Carlin. It’s normal.”

Carlin blinked at her. “Who knows? I thought you said I was pretty quiet.”

She glowered and glanced over at where they could see Thera and Jonah walking together. “He heard you first, one night. I don’t know what he thought he was doing, but he woke you up and you yelled. A couple of other people looked up, but it wasn’t any big deal.”

“Why would he do that?” Carlin asked.

“I don’t know. People do strange things sometimes. We gotta get this done, Carlin.”

Taking this as an unsubtle hint that the conversation was over, he got back to work.


	19. Chapter 19

Brenna walked into Administrator Calder’s office, Thera’s suggestions for plant improvements in her hands. They were brilliant, but that shouldn’t be surprising given Thera’s background. They weren’t, however, why she’d been summoned, so she gripped them anxiously.

Administrator Calder spoke before she’d even reached her customary spot in front of his desk. “Why didn’t the memory stamp work on Teal’c?”

She had wondered if he’d wanted to ask her about that. “I’m sure it was the creature his species carries within them.” She didn’t want him to have to be killed, so she added hastily, “We’ve stamped him again, this time it seems to be holding.”

The administrator pursed his lips, looking dissatisfied, but he didn’t pursue it. “And what about the others?”

“They’re all proving to be excellent workers.” It was a perfect opening. “In fact, Thera has some very interesting ideas for improving the plant.”

Administrator Calder knit his eyebrows. “Thera?” he asked without much interest.

Brenna held out the metal folder and, rolling his eyes, he gestured her forward. “The personality we stamped Major Carter with,” she said, handing across the folder. He covered his hand with a cloth before taking it, the way he always did when forced to take something from her, as if she were somehow unclean. As she started to back away, her eyes fell on the bowl of red juza fruit on his desk, and her mouth watered. The administrator scanned through Thera’s ideas, his face unreadable. “We’ve been having some problems with the pressure overload,” Brenna commented. “She suggested an automated relief valve which would relieve the excess pressure. If we didn’t have to regulate the pressure manually it would free up workers for other tasks.”

The administrator looked up, an angry glint in his eyes. “Maybe one day she could increase productivity to the point where we don’t even need workers,” he said, his voice cold and sharp.

Brenna was taken aback by his reaction. Licking her lips, she tried to think what to say. “What would be so wrong with that?” she asked. She knew he despised the workers, but surely he didn’t think it was better for them to –

His eyes narrowed, throwing her thoughts off. “Well, I’m sure they’d fit right in,” he said, just as if she wasn’t a worker herself. “They don’t even know that the city exists!” he continued. She knew he included her in ‘they,’ but his language, the implied shared contempt was . . . was it an attempt to get her to join his point of view? Did he think she was stupid enough to fall for it as he held that metal folder with his cloth to insulate him from her contamination?

She wasn’t going to concede the point so easily. “You could tell them,” she said.

“That they’d been lied to all their lives?” he said incredulously, and in that she saw his point. She had no idea how they’d react if they knew she’d known all along what was up here. Administrator Calder wasn’t done with his reasons, though. “How would the people of the city react when there’s less to go around? When they had to make room for workers?” Brenna glanced automatically at the bowl of fruit. She suspected that there was plenty to go around, if people weren’t gluttons.

She took control of herself. This was a dangerous way of thinking. She couldn’t afford to give way to it. There were too many people’s lives at stake.

“Right now in our city, Brenna, we have no crime, no unemployment!”

Crime? Unemployment? She wasn’t saying that they would have nothing to do, and her people weren’t criminals. “But –”

He shook his head. “They’re happy where they are!” he said persuasively. “That’s what the stamp assures.” Had he forgotten that she got her regular stamps, too? How stupid did he think she was? She swallowed her dismay and kept her composure. He held out the metal folder with a grim look. “Do only what is necessary to ensure uninterrupted power.”

She took it and watched him wipe his hands off after letting go of it. “Yes, Administrator,” she said, and left the office. Her mind was in chaos. Her training, her conditioning, all the stamps that she had been given over the years, they all told her that she had no place judging an administrator, but she didn’t want to accept that he would so blithely condemn them all permanently to the dreadful life they led underground.

The stamp could be used to fit people for society aboveground as well. Had he not considered that amongst all his other concerns?

She shook her head vigorously as she reached her office. This would not do. She could not go against an administrator, no matter what he did. She was a worker, a nothing, a nobody. He knew what was best. He must. If he didn’t, it would mean . . .

She went down into the plant and walked among her fellows, seeing that they had what they needed to work well and trying not to let Administrator Calder’s words fester in her mind.

Returning to her office, she left the door open and sat down, pulling out the schematics of the plant. There was some trouble with the generators in Area 9 that meant they’d need more consistent monitoring until parts could be obtained. That would mean rearranging some of the shifts again. She marked the areas that needed the most attention at the moment and stared at them contemplatively.

A knock on her door frame some while later called her attention from her task. She looked up and saw Thera looking hopefully at her. Brenna didn’t want to do this, but it had to be done. “Did you get a chance to look over my plans yet?” Thera asked eagerly. “I’d like to get started right away.”

Before she’d even finished speaking, Brenna cut in. “We can’t do the improvements.”

It was like she’d cut the woman’s legs off at the knees. Thera blinked at her, looking startled and very disappointed. “But you said before . . .”

Brenna shook her head decisively. “No.” She’d had a lot of time to consider ways to answer this question. “They would require the generators to be offline for too long . . . if any of the critical systems began to freeze we might not be able to get them started again.”

Thera nodded understanding, but wasn’t giving up. “I agree there’s some risk,” Thera started, but Brenna cut her off again.

“Too much risk,” she said, rising and handing Thera her folder. She didn’t want to prolong this. Why couldn’t Thera just give up? Even now, Brenna could see she was trying to come up with a more persuasive argument.

“Okay,” Thera said, “well, what about my other ideas?”

Brenna kept her face as neutrally stern as possible. “I’m sorry. This plant is all that stands between us and the ice. Uninterrupted production is more important than efficiency.” She sat down and looked at her schematics. “You may return to work.”

Finally, Thera turned to go. Brenna’s relief was short-lived, though, as Thera turned back almost immediately. “Brenna, I know you were excited about this,” she said, her tone full of confusion. “What’s happened?”

Brenna wanted to tell her. She wanted to talk to her. Thera was smart, pleasant to talk to, so very eager and earnest. Brenna genuinely liked her, and it was so rare for her to find someone she felt she could talk to that this was harder than it might have been. Bad enough that she had to refuse this opportunity to make her people’s lives easier, but to destroy this woman’s hope when so much had already been taken from her . . . it seemed cruel.

She marshalled herself, though, for it had to be done. Pushing this with the administrator wouldn’t help Thera, and it might harm her in the long run. “Well, I’ve thought it over,” Brenna said.

“At least let me come up with a safer way –” Thera started, and Brenna started to get angry. She was trying so hard to make this easy, but Thera wouldn’t let it go.

“Thera, please leave,” she said harshly.

Thera’s face went blank as she took in the rebuke. “It’s my honor to serve,” she said and then left, giving Brenna one last bewildered look as she went.

Brenna put her head in her hands after Thera was gone. She had no choice. It would be worse to lead Thera to believe that there was any hope of implementing her ideas when there wasn’t. She wished the strangers had never come. Things would be so much simpler then.

* * *

Hammond sat at the head of the conference table waiting for all the men and women to settle down around the table. Kovacek and Griff were eyeing each other warily. The non-diplomatic teams always seemed to be at odds with SG-9, but so long as it didn’t break out into open conflict, Hammond tried to handle it subtly.

“Sir, I have read Major Griff’s report,” Lt. Colonel Kovacek said. Griff looked up sourly, like he thought he knew what to expect. His nose and cheeks still showed the ill effects of his trip out to the glacier. “And after visiting P3R-118, I am in complete agreement.” There was silence around the table.

Hammond leaned back in his chair. “And what brings you to this conclusion?”

“I think I’ll let Lt. Pearce explain, sir.”

Hammond turned to Megan Pearce, who was their business liaison on Kovacek’s team. She’d been an excellent find of O’Neill’s when on his last personnel run. “Go ahead, lieutenant,” he said when it seemed she was having a case of nerves.

Clearing her throat, she said, “One of the businessmen I spoke to said a few things that seemed a little . . .” She shrugged. “He told me that we should keep in close contact with our home base, and that we should be careful what we said and to whom.”

Hammond blinked. “He did?”

“And he implied that our predecessors hadn’t been as careful as they might have been, but he didn’t get much more specific than that.”

“That is very interesting, lieutenant,” Hammond said slowly.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk in more detail with anyone else,” Kovacek said. “Once Pearce had related that information to me, I thought we might do better to discuss our observations in an environment we had a little more control over.”

“So,” Hammond said, looking around, “anyone have other observations to report?”

There was a brief silence, then Nguyn cleared his throat and Hammond turned to him. “It’s not conclusive, but I took the time to grab Dr. Jackson’s preliminary cultural reports and skimmed them again to make sure I remembered correctly.” Hammond nodded. “He indicates that the culture has a history of taking those it deems to be unacceptable, criminals, traitors, prisoners of war, troublemakers, and enslaving them.”

“I didn’t see any signs of slavery,” Kovacek protested, and the others nodded.

Nguyn shook his head. “Not chains and whips, no, sir, but that’s a very narrow view of slavery. Cultures throughout our own past have had various ways of treating their slaves. Roman slaves in noble households often had better lives that common free people. I think . . . I could be wrong, but it was pretty consistent. The people who served us during the meal, the people who guided us about, they all wore a sort of necklace. They didn’t all look the same, but I think it might be an indication of slave status.”

“They were also all young,” Harmon pointed out. “Are you sure it wasn’t just a fashion?”

“Yes, but I also noticed that all of the adults I saw minding children wore the necklace too. Many of the entertainers, porters in the streets . . .”

“I think I know what you mean,” Pearce said. “I wondered if it was some kind of working class thing myself.”

“And there is something else,” Nguyn said. Hammond looked at him. “It’s clear from Dr. Jackson’s notes that he wasn’t comfortable there.” Hammond raised an eyebrow. “It’s Dr. Jackson, sir,” Nguyn said. “The most culturally open man I know, and he wasn’t comfortable.”

Hammond sighed, nodding. “I understand what you –”

“Oh God!” exclaimed Captain Tritt, and they all turned to him. “That . . . then . . .” He shook his head. “I heard some people talking when they didn’t know I was nearby. Two men. They were discussing a recent scandal.”

“Go on,” Hammond said.

“Apparently, Administrator Calder has . . . well, he has some interesting tastes,” Tritt said, flushing. “These men were talking about his recent acquisition and subsequent loss of a male servant. A personal servant. They got a little lewd about him, described him a little.” Tritt seemed very uncomfortable, and Hammond had a sinking feeling.

He leaned forward and said, “Son, I can tell this is difficult, but we need to hear what you’ve got to say.”

“Apparently he has brown hair and blue eyes and . . .” Tritt swallowed. “They got a bit speculative on certain portions of his anatomy.” He shook his head.

“Could you be more specific?” Hammond asked gently.

“Sir, the clear indication was of some kind of BDSM thing, but there was nothing said by either of the men that definitely suggested that the . . . the servant was unwilling. They did say he talked so much that the administrator had to gag him for his . . .” Tritt gulped. “For his public presentation.”

Hammond felt his gut twist. Blue eyes, brown hair, talkative . . . “Anything else?”

“I got the impression that someone made the administrator get rid of him, but again, there weren’t any real details. It sounded more like they knew just enough to be fascinated, but not enough to know what really happened.”

Hammond cleared his throat. “Well, as such, it’s purely speculative, but it does add some insight to the culture. Now, did anyone observe anything that might make a rescue attempt feasible?”

Everyone exchanged looks, and then Kovacek said, “We wouldn’t begin to know where to look, sir.”

“We would know where not to look,” Griff commented. “They didn’t go outside. No way, no how.”

Hammond grimaced. “Very well. Submit your reports and all of you, give some thought to how you’d mount a rescue under the circumstances.”

Kovacek cleared his throat. “I have one suggestion, sir,” he said.

“Yes?”

“I think my team should go back. The Pentagon wants to maintain contact with these people, and we can possibly find out more details about what might have happened to SG-1 if Pearce keeps up her contact with this fellow she was talking to.”

Hammond glanced at Pearce who was nodding. “I think if I talked a little bit about Dr. Jackson and his many good qualities, I might get some more information.”

“I’ll give it some thought,” he said. “Submit a proposal, Kovacek, and go over it with Griff. He’ll be leading the rescue team when I send it, so find out what he wants to know.”

They got up and left, and Hammond sat back. If Dr. Jackson was, or had been, in a situation such as Tritt had described . . . rage began to boil deep in his gut. He wanted to know what had happened to his people, and he wanted to make whoever had done it to them pay.


	20. Chapter 20

Carlin mulled the problem over in his head for a day or two before finally approaching Kegan again. He’d stopped being constantly under her tutelage, though she still kept an eye out for him. It was an even shower night, so he found her at one of the water taps, cooling her neck with a wet cloth.

“Kegan, I need to ask you something.” She looked up at him but didn’t say anything. He took a deep breath and said, “How did I get here?”

“What do you mean, how did you get here?” she asked. “You were transferred from the mines.”

He looked away uncomfortably. “No, before that.”

“Before?” she asked, starting at him.

“Yeah.”

“You don’t remember?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I keep thinking about it, and all I come up with is a handful of memories.”

Eyes full of worry and maybe some alarm, she walked over to him. “What is this about, anyway?” she asked.

Carlin knew she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I’m just wondering if Jonah and Thera were ever my friends.”

Kegan let out an irritated sigh, looking away. Not meeting his eyes, she said, “Friends?”

Carlin shrugged. “Maybe I don’t recognize them because it was years ago . . .”

Kegan interrupted him. “Listen to me, they are just trying to get close to Brenna so they can get special treatment. Especially Thera.”

Carlin pursed his lips uncomfortably. He didn’t see that in Jonah and Thera. He didn’t know why Kegan was so convinced of it, but he couldn’t seen any signs of that kind of behavior. “Look, all I’m saying is –”

Cutting across his words, Kegan spoke angrily. “And all I’m saying is that if you’re friends with those two . . .” She paused, looking up at him with a mixture of confusion and anger. “. . . you’re not mine.” Looking hurt and angry, she stared at him for a moment, then turned and walked away. Carlin gazed after her, feeling bereft. She was his only friend here thus far, and he didn’t want to alienate her, but there was something else going on. Something big that worried at him constantly.

Maybe he was night sick, but he didn’t think so. It was after dinner, but before lights out, so he took advantage of the opportunity. He wandered from group to group, talking and listening, trying to get a feel for what other people knew about their histories. He discovered two things. Very few people wanted to talk about the past, and those who did seemed to remember very little. It was food for thought, and he contemplated it as he lay down for the night.

* * *

He was working on a generator in Area 9 when he heard the alarm horn blow. He took off towards the number two boiler at a dead run. When he got there a couple of guys were dragging an unconscious Tor away, and Thera was looking frantic but controlled.

“What’s happening?” he asked urgently, stopping right in front of her.

“If that boiler blows, it’ll take this whole section with it,” she said, and he looked up at the massive thing. Jonah ran up just then, gazing at Thera for instructions. “Now, I can shut off the main boiler from here, but somebody’s going to have to get back there and open the primary release valve!” She raised her voice on the last three words, because Jonah had taken off at ‘go back there.’

Thera started towards the boiler controls and Carlin started to run after Jonah, figuring he might need some help. Kegan ran up to him. “Carlin!” she cried frantically.

“Get these people out of here!” he yelled, gesturing at all the people who were still working as if nothing was wrong.

As he ran off, he heard her shouting behind him. “Get out of here! Clear this section!”

The narrow area behind the boiler was incredibly hot and the sound of the pressure warning whistle was piercing. An ominous creaking came from the behemoth boiler next to him. Sweat was pouring off him in rivers when he saw Jonah struggling with the lever of the release valve. It was clearly too hot to get a grip on, not to mention that the rapidly increasing pressure had to be making it nearly impossible to turn.

There had to be another way, he thought. His gaze fell on a store of tools in a niche back here, and he grabbed up a pair of mallets. If they couldn’t turn the valve, maybe they could smash it off. Half the workers in the plant would die if that thing exploded.

“Here!” he yelled loudly, holding out one of the mallets. Jonah turned, seeming surprised to see him. He immediately saw what Carlin had in mind, though, and took one of the mallets. Taking turns, they brought the mallets down hard on the valve control at its weakest point until it finally broke off, allowing the steam to burst free. Carlin went down to his knees, covering his face with his arm when it blew. It was so hot and so close.

Jonah yelled, “Hey!” Carlin looked up and, much to his surprise, Jonah put his hand out to help him up. Carlin wasn’t sure how to take it . . . for a moment he stared at him, uneasiness roiling in his gut, but then he grabbed the hand and Jonah pulled him to his feet with unexpected strength. They made their way out from behind the boiler.

Thera let out an obvious sigh of relief when they emerged and she dashed over. “You two okay?” she asked.

Jonah grinned. “Thanks to the kid, here. I’d still be holding onto that damned lever if he hadn’t come along.”

Brenna came running up and Thera gabbled out an explanation that meant almost nothing to Carlin. He glanced at Jonah who looked as perplexed as he felt. Brenna seemed to understand it, though and said, “I want all three of you go straight to the sick room and let Dolmen look you over.” Nodding, they headed in that direction, and behind them Carlin could hear Brenna directing some of the others in recovery operations.

Dolmen pronounced them all healthy, but as they started to leave, Brenna came in. “Please wait,” she said. Walking over to Tor, she looked up at Dolmen who shook his head. Carlin wondered what was wrong with the big man. Brenna made him lie down and ordered him to stay where he was until he was well enough to work. Then she turned to the rest of them.

“As for you three, we all owe you a debt of gratitude,” she said sincerely. “You risked your lives to save the plant.”

“It is my honor to serve,” Carlin said, and he heard Thera say it with him. Jonah muttered, “Right,” after the other two had spoken. Carlin was uneasy, and he sensed that the others were, too. It . . . he didn’t know . . . the three of them had come together so quickly and seamlessly to deal with the problem, yet Carlin didn’t know the other two. Or did he? His clear memories could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and he wouldn’t need the thumb. Tor . . . or Teal’c . . . had said they were friends, that they were part of something. Part of what?

“If it hadn’t been for your quick action, many lives might have been lost,” Brenna added. Carlin thought he should feel good about that, proud, but there was a sick feeling in his gut like there was something badly wrong here, only he didn’t know what it was.

“Next time will be different,” Thera said soberly.

Brenna smiled. “Hopefully there won’t be a next time,” she said.

“Well, if you had listened to me in the first place –” Thera said resentfully, and Carlin turned to her, surprised by her vehemence.

Brenna cut her off, her voice gone hard. “Thera!” The other woman broke off, looking frustrated. Brenna’s voice and expression softened. “You’re dismissed,” she said firmly and Carlin was eager to go. This all felt too wrong. He was ready to explode with the wrongness of it.

He walked out of the sick room with the others, Thera in front of him, Jonah behind. Jonah passed him up and said, “Hey, next time don’t hold back . . . just, you know, speak your mind.”

Thera turned slightly. “She knows I’m right,” she said, sounding angry.

Carlin spoke up. “There’s something else going on,” he said. They stopped and looked at him, and then they all looked around to see if anyone had noticed Carlin’s unfortunately loud statement. No one was looking at them, and Carlin sighed with relief. The other two looked at him, waiting. “The big night sick guy with the . . . uh . . .” He pointed at his forehead. He wasn’t going to call it a birthmark.

“Tor?” Thera suggested.

Carlin looked around again nervously. “He said we were part of something called SG-1.”

Jonah nodded, eyes widening with the memory. “Yeah, what is that?” he asked.

“A team?” Thera said hesitantly.

Jonah looked incredulous. “What kind of a name is that for a team?”

“I don’t know,” Carlin said, not sure how to get across what he was feeling to them. “Look, I just think I’m supposed to be doing something . . . more important . . .” He trailed off. This wasn’t coming out right.

“We’re helping our people survive an ice age,” Thera protested.

“Yeah,” Jonah exclaimed. “What’s more important than that?”

“I don’t know,” Carlin said helplessly. He sounded like an idiot. Great. “Look, I just have this feeling that all of us are part of some bigger . . . grander thing.”

Carlin glanced at both of them, trying to gauge their reactions. Thera raised her eyebrows and looked at Jonah.

“Well, I certainly understand what you’re talking about,” Jonah said, an odd tone his voice.

“You do?” Carlin asked, startled, because he wasn’t altogether sure he knew what he was talking about.

“No,” Jonah said flatly, and Carlin grimaced.

He looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to their little gathering. No one seemed to be, so he took a deep breath and went on. “Look, I don’t know how to explain this, but I had this dream.” He looked at Jonah. “You were in it.”

“Me?” Jonah asked incuriously.

Carlin nodded. Hesitantly, because he knew how crazy the dream sounded, he said, “There was this big glowing puddle.”

“Okay, stop talking right now!” Jonah said, sounding almost angry.

“Wait a second, Jonah,” Thera said, and Carlin looked at her hopefully. “I had the same dream,” she added.

Carlin stared at her. So he wasn’t crazy, there was something. There was no way the two of them could have the same dream if there wasn’t something.

Jonah’s eyes widened and glared at both of them. “Would you two stop talking like that, for crying out loud!” he said in a low urgent voice. Carlin raised an eyebrow at that last phrase, and he could tell that Thera was caught by it, too. Did she feel the same half-familiarity of it? Jonah noticed how they were looking at him and said, “It’s an expression, right?”

Carlin looked around. This was too dangerous. “Look, we can’t talk right now,” he said. “Let’s meet after lights out.” Glancing around again, he walked between them and back to his generator.

* * *

Jonah watched Carlin and Thera make their separate ways back to their normal tasks, then he headed back to his own. Carlin was having dreams in which Jonah was a featured player, but they also involved big glowing puddles. And Thera was having the same dream, though come to think of it, she hadn’t specified his presence in her dream, just the glowing puddle.

Jonah really didn’t know what to make of all this. On one level, what Carlin had said resonated powerfully with him, but on another he thought it was cracked. Bigger, grander thing . . . delusions of grandeur, more than likely. He blinked thoughtfully and turned to the man next to him. “Do you know what ‘delusions of grandeur’ are?” he asked.

The man shook his head and turned back to his work without speaking. Jonah pursed his lips thoughtfully as he bent to tune up this little engine that ran one of the coolant lines. Weren’t ‘expressions’ things everyone said a lot? That’s why they were called ‘expressions.’ If that was the case, then why did he know so many that nobody else knew?

Bah! He was letting Carlin’s words get to him. He’d come from the mines, where they evidently talked differently. And two people having dreams about big glowing puddles didn’t make for the three of them, plus Tor, being part of some ‘bigger, grander thing.’

On the other hand, he’d dreamed about Carlin before he saw him here. Tor had linked the four of them in a group, and he hadn’t believed he knew Tor either. Thera was very important to him, but . . .

He wasn’t going to analyze this. He would be seeing Carlin and Thera later, and they could talk then. Maybe it would make sense, more likely it wouldn’t.

After his post-meal walk, he settled down outside the dormitory and waited for the others. Thera came up followed closely by Carlin and they both sat down, Thera beside him and Carlin facing him.

“So?” Carlin asked, looking at him.

“So?” Thera was also looking expectantly at him, and he didn’t have any idea what they expected.

“Do you have the same dream?” Carlin asked.

“About you?” Jonah replied sarcastically, not wanting either of them to get anywhere near the truth about his dreams.

“No!” Thera exclaimed. “About the shimmering circle of water.”

“No,” Jonah replied. “My dreams are about . . .” He glanced at each of them and took a deep breath. “. . . other things.”

Carlin leaned in closer. “Tor said we had to escape. He also said we had to remember. Remember what?”

“Well, I remember that when I was foreman, anyone caught doing what we’re doing now had their rations cut in half for a month,” Jonah said sourly.

“We’ll have to risk it,” Thera said, and Jonah knew he was caught. Carlin was looking like he thought Jonah was full of crap and Thera was enthusiastically bent on breaking the rules. He didn’t think he could say no to either of them.

“What if our memories have been somehow altered?” Carlin asked.

“Well, if that’s true,” Thera said worriedly, “then we can’t be sure of anything.”

“My memory’s fine!” Jonah protested.

Carlin gave him a sarcastic look. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Jonah said.

“What did you do in the mines?” Carlin asked.

Jonah didn’t have an immediate answer, so he faked it the best he could. “I mined.”

“No,” Carlin said in exasperation. “What did you _do?_ ”

Jonah thought hard. “I remember shoveling ore into a cart.”

“And?” Carlin prompted.

Jonah stared at the other man wordlessly. He didn’t have an answer. “I did that a lot.” Carlin’s face didn’t change, but Jonah could tell he was satisfied that the answer proved his own point. Jonah wanted to growl. The fact was, though, that he didn’t have a lot of memories, and the answer that the ore messed with memory didn’t hold water the way it should.

“I remember a feeling of cold and darkness,” Thera said.

“And that’s where the two of you met?” Carlin asked pressingly.

“Yeah,” Jonah replied, and Thera looked at him in surprise.

“Really?”

“Sure,” Jonah said, but he could tell that Thera was as unconvinced by this as he was. His first memory of Thera was of knowing he had to find her when he woke up. In fact, that was his first clear memory. This was getting alarming. He turned to Carlin. “So, what’s this important thing we’re supposed to be doing?”

“I told you, I don’t know,” Carlin said. “I keep trying to remember, but all I . . . I come up with are images of this place.”

Thera blinked, looking worried. “But if you’re right, then everything we remember about this place is a lie.”

“It’s like a facade,” Carlin said. “It only works if we don’t dig too deep beneath the surface, if we don’t question it.” That not questioning it thing was sounding kind of good to Jonah, but his gut told him it was wrong. “So that’s what we have to do,” Carlin continued. “We have to question every assumption, everything.”

“We have to keep this to ourselves,” Thera said earnestly. “If the others heard us talking this way, they’d think we were night sick.”

Carlin nodded, but Jonah thought that raised an interesting point. “What if we are night sick?”

Thera shook her head. “I don’t think so, sir,” she said firmly, and Jonah stared at her in surprise.

“What?” Carlin asked, echoing Jonah’s thought.

“What?” Thera asked, looking at them like she didn’t understand what they were so surprised about.

“You just called Jonah ‘sir,’” Carlin said.

Thera glanced at Jonah and licked her lips, looking as baffled as Jonah felt. He raised an eyebrow. She’d said it. Surely she knew why. “Well, it’s an expression, isn’t it?” she said.

Carlin’s eyes widened, and Jonah felt a pit of cold start in his gut. It was getting a little too spooky for him. “I’m going to bed,” he announced. “You two had better, too. We’re not going to be let off work tomorrow.”

“Right,” Carlin said. “See what you dream about tonight, okay? Try to remember.”

“Oh, I remember my dreams well enough,” Jonah said. “They just don’t involve glowing puddles.” He nodded to Thera who started off ahead of him. He followed her, not looking back to see if Carlin followed.

Lying in his bed, he tried hard to remember the mines, but all he got was the memory of shoveling ore into a cart. No sleeping, no eating, no other tasks. When he pushed to remember more, all he got were images of this place, like Carlin had said. It didn’t add up. Much as he didn’t want to think it was true, because the implications were vast and disturbing, he was beginning to feel he had to accept it.

* * *

When he awoke, he remembered his dreams, all right. There were no glowing puddles, but he’d had one hell of a series of sexual adventures. And there had been mining as well, clothing optional. Watching Carlin swinging a hammer without his clothing on was . . .

He got up and headed to the necessary.


	21. Chapter 21

Hammond hung up the phone with more force than was strictly necessary. They’d sent Kovacek’s team through earlier in the day, but he didn’t have permission to order Kovacek to use any kind of pressure tactics to get Administrator Calder to admit what had really happened. He walked out into the briefing room and looked down on the technicians who were checking the gate and its attendant equipment for any kind of flaw or malfunction. This entire situation was insanely unacceptable.

Someone came into the room behind him and he turned to see Dr. Fraiser coming in.

“Sir, I have those medical reports that you were waiting for,” she said. “Major Griff did suffer some minor frostbite, but the rest of his team is fine.”

Hammond nodded as she put the reports on the table, then he turned back to the window and looked out again. “Thank you, doctor.” They were all fit and ready, as soon as there was a viable plan he could send Griff through with his team to retrieve their lost lambs.

Fraiser walked closer and her voice was rich with concern and sympathy when she spoke. “Any word from the planet?”

“I spoke to Administrator Calder about an hour ago. He ‘regretfully’ informed me that the search of the city turned up nothing.”

“So that’s it?” she asked incredulously.

“Short of going to war, all we can really do is break off diplomatic relations,” Hammond said. His lips tightened. “I’m not authorized to do that just yet.”

“I take it they have something we want,” Fraiser said.

Hammond sighed. “They’re quite advanced in metallurgical and chemical technologies.” He didn’t think that mattered nearly as much as the Pentagon seemed to, but he wasn’t in charge.

“Well, we must have something they want, or they wouldn’t have proposed trade,” Fraiser said reasonably.

Though phrased as a statement, it was clearly a question. “Stargate technology,” he said, “gate addresses . . .”

“Well, I can understand that,” she said. “They’re surrounded by ice.”

“As far as I’m concerned, they need us a hell of a lot more than we need them. Apparently Administrator Calder doesn’t seem to think so.” He pursed his lips angrily. “Frankly, I think he likes things just the way they are.”

“That doesn’t leave you with many options, does it, sir?” Fraiser asked sympathetically.

Hammond turned away from the gate and met her eyes. “No, it doesn’t, which is why I’ve ordered Major Griff to draw up a covert search and rescue plan.”

Fraiser blinked at him, seeming a little surprised. “Well, if you’re looking for volunteers, sir . . .” she offered after a moment.

He smiled. “Thank you, doctor. I’ll keep that in mind.”   She nodded and left him alone again. Hammond looked back down at the gate. It might not be a bad idea to send her. He had no idea what kinds of medical problems his people might be suffering from right now. He only wished he could go with the team to find them.

* * *

Breakfast tasted as bland and mealy as ever, Jonah thought, taking another bite. Thera hadn’t gotten any bread again, but nobody had made any kind of fuss this time. It seemed unwise to draw attention to themselves.

Carlin came over from the food line and sat down with them, handing Thera his bread. Jonah was a little surprised, but he didn’t say anything about it. Carlin dug into his food with zeal.

“Any more dreams?” Jonah asked.

Carlin looked up from his bowl and nodded. “I saw the pool of light again, except this time we were all there, including Tor.”

There was a pause that seemed to call for a response, so Jonah shrugged. “I dreamed about mining.” Carlin raised his eyebrow and Jonah added, “Naked.” It was less than the whole truth, but more than he’d wanted to say. Thera looked up at him in surprise.

“Thera?” Carlin prompted.

She bit her lips. “Um . . .” Then she leaned in closer. “A lot of numbers and letters keep popping into my mind. S, G, 1. D, H, D. G, D, O.”

“It sounds like gibberish to me,” Carlin said, and Jonah had to agree. The bowl another worker was holding caught Jonah’s attention, and he stared at it.

“Well, it must mean something,” Thera said defensively.

Jonah leaned across between them and tapped Arven on the shoulder. “Excuse me?” he said, offering his partially full bowl in exchange for the man’s empty one. Arven made the trade and Jonah stared at the bowl.

Thera stared at him. “Jonah?” she said worriedly.

Carefully, not sure why he was doing it, he put it down next to him upside down so that it looked like a dome. “That means something,” he said.

“What is it?” Thera asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Jonah replied, continuing to gaze at the upside-down bowl. Abruptly he wasn’t in the plant. He was in a large room, looking out an immense window over a beautiful vista. Jonah was puzzled by the anger and contempt that filled his mind as he looked out. He turned toward the room and said, “Very impressive.” Just as abruptly, he was back in the plant, sitting with Thera and Carlin, and his mind was whirling. He didn’t say anything. The others didn’t seem to have noticed his abstraction, so he guessed it must not have lasted long.

While everyone else was finishing up their meal, Jonah took the bowl over to his cot and tucked it under the pillow.

* * *

Brenna walked into the sick room. Dolmen had called her down to see Tor, who did not appear to be recovering from his unknown ailment. He was fevered, weak and didn’t want to eat. Brenna touched his forehead and found it very hot to the touch.

Dolmen shook his head. “I don’t understand, his condition’s getting worse.” He bent and reached out for the bandages around Tor’s middle. “Here, let me check his wound.”

Brenna caught his arm. “Under no circumstances are you to remove those bandages,” she ordered sharply, and Dolmen looked at her in astonishment. “Just make sure he continues to eat and drink.”

Turning, she left. She had to report this, and she dreaded what Administrator Calder would say.

Within the hour, she was summoned to his office. “I don’t understand this report,” he said, walking across to stand at the window, his back to her. “What exactly is happening?”

“For some reason Tor seems to be having an adverse reaction to the memory stamp,” Brenna said. “I think he may be dying.”

“Workers die,” the administrator said with chilling indifference. “What about his friends?”

Brenna spoke hesitantly, aware that he had other sources of information about what went on down below. “I’ve received a report. They’ve been gathering together in secret. Administrator, I think they’re starting to remember.” Maybe if he thought the stamp wouldn’t work on any of them, he’d come to his senses and send them home. “Their brain chemistry is different than ours, that might be the reason,” she said. It didn’t seem to be having quite the right impact on him. “But we can restamp them, she added hastily.

“No,” he said, turning. “No, I think it’s time they found out what it is like outside.”

Brenna stared at him as he returned to his desk, utterly shocked. They didn’t kill people, ever, except by accident. “All they really did was disapprove of our treatment of the workers,” she said hesitantly.

“No no,” he said. “No, they did much more than disapprove. They passed judgment on us, Brenna.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’m simply doing the same.”

“Yes sir,” she said numbly.

“Brenna, if for some reason you can’t comply with my orders . . .”

She shook her head. “It’s an honor to serve, Administrator,” she said.

He gave her a malevolent smile. “Yes, it is.” Clear in his tone was the implication that he might deem others unworthy of that honor.

Brenna went out. He wanted her to send them outside, including Tor who was still ill. She couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t do that. It was insane. Administrator Calder had lost his mind, but he was still the administrator.

What was she going to do?

* * *

Thera had joined him on his walk, and Jonah thought he knew why. This whole situation was difficult, and being alone with it was hard. Carlin clearly didn’t believe that Kegan was part of their group, so he’d really been alone from the start. Thera had always had him.

“Let’s sit down for a little while,” Thera said. “Have you thought of anything else?” she asked.

He wasn’t ready to talk about his vision thing yet, so he sat down, contemplating what he had thought of. “I remember something,” he said. “There was a man. He’s bald and wears a short sleeve shirt, and somehow he’s very important to me.” Thera nodded and narrowed her eyes like she was trying to remember too. “I think his name is Homer.” He was shocked to discover that he really believed in all this. He really believed that they were trapped down here by some power beyond their control, and that they had to take action to get away. That there was somewhere to get away to.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Damn,” he said. “You?”

“Just a lot of vague images.” She suddenly leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. It felt good. “You know, there are things about this place that I like,” she said.

“Really?” he said incredulously. She gave him a look, and he realized that she meant she liked the closeness, and he wondered if she remembered something that suggested they weren’t so close wherever they belonged. “Would it mean anything if I told you I remember something else?” he asked.

“What?” she asked.

“Feelings,” he said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Feelings?” she asked.

“I remember feeling feelings.”

“For me?” Thera asked, sounding startled.

“No, for Tor,” he said sarcastically and she giggled. “I don’t remember much, but I do remember that.”

“So . . .” she started, then let the word trail off.

“So . . . I’m just saying.”

“Well, then I feel better,” she said, and he relaxed into the closeness. They didn’t say anything else, and after a while, he realized that they’d better get to bed or people would wonder what they were up to. He got her to her feet and they went to their bunks.

* * *

He was in that big room again, with the yellow pillar and the enormous windows. “Very impressive,” he said. He turned around and saw a weaselly looking man looking at him complacently while eating fruit. “Too bad it’s a lie.” It was one of those dreams where he had no control over his actions, and no idea why he was doing what he was doing until he’d done it. The conversation continued along its predestined paths, and Jonah began to understand many things that had puzzled them all.

They were from elsewhere, all four of them, and he’d pissed off the weasel guy, so they’d wound up here. That much he knew, but he didn’t know anything else, and he wasn’t sure how much he’d remember when he –

The horn went off and Jonah sat up. He saw the upside down bowl where he’d placed it the night before, and hastily tucked it out of sight. Then he got up and went over to where Thera was opening her eyes and stretching. “Thera! I think I know what’s going on,” he said.

Leryn walked up and said, “Jonah, Thera, report to Brenna’s quarters.”

They exchanged a worried look and went upstairs where they found Carlin waiting. Jonah felt his heart descend to his shoes. They were going to get disciplined, probably forbidden from talking to each other. He couldn’t obey an order like that, and the consequences of disobedience could be dire.

Brenna didn’t say anything, she seemed to be waiting for something. A moment later, two guys came in carrying a stretcher with Tor on it.

“Put him down over there,” Brenna said, pointing at her own bed. The guys picked him up and dumped him on the bed. “You’re dismissed,” she said to the two, and, taking the stretcher, they left, shutting the door behind them. Jonah looked over at Brenna wondering what the hell was going on. She wasn’t likely to discipline a sick man, was she?

“What’s the matter with him?” Thera asked.

“He’s dying,” Brenna said, sounding worried and unhappy.

Carlin, beside Jonah, spoke up suddenly. “Kel no reem,” he said, sounding as if he wasn’t altogether sure why he was saying it.

The others looked at him in confusion, and Jonah said, “What?”

“I’m not sure what it means,” Carlin said. “But I think . . .”

The information dropped into place in Jonah’s mind. “It’s a kind of meditation. He has to do it every day or he gets sick, right?”

Carlin nodded, and Thera said, “So why doesn’t he do it?”

“Because he can’t remember.”

Brenna stepped forward. “Colonel O’Neill is correct,” she said, and Jonah looked at her in astonishment. O’Neill. Colonel O’Neill. Jonathon O’Neill. Jack. “As you have begun to suspect, all of you have had your memories altered.” Turning to Thera, Brenna said, “You are Major Samantha Carter.” Sam. Carter. Jack’s mind was full of disconnected information. Daniel. Daniel! He looked to his left just as Brenna said, “Dr. Daniel Jackson, and your friend here is named Teal’c.”

Jack blinked. “Where does Homer fit in?” he asked, trying to fit the jumbled pieces together.

“You are all they sent down,” Brenna said apologetically. “At first I thought it was necessary to protect the city, but now things have gone too far. You don’t belong here.” Jack listened with all his might. The answers, finally. “You need to return to your own world. Your memories will come back more quickly once you get home.”

“Home?” Jack said. He felt utterly stunned, and he could tell that the other felt the same way.

“Yes,” she said. Gesturing toward the solid wall behind her, she said, “Through there.” Stepping to her desk, she pressed a button.

The wall slid open, revealing a doorway, but before Jack could even register that much, the weasel man walked in with two armed guards flanking him. He, too, had a weapon. This wasn’t looking good.

“Administrator Calder!” Brenna said, clearly alarmed.

“Brenna, I must say I’m disappointed, but not surprised.” Calder. Thoughts started percolating through Jack’s mind, and emotions directed at that man. Anger, hatred, utter complete contempt. “You see,” Calder continued, “I’ve been watching you growing weaker for some time now.”

“I’ve been coming to my senses,” Brenna said, her voice strong with the same contempt that Jack felt.

Calder shrugged. “Either way you’re no longer of any use to me.” He aimed his weapon at her and shot. Brenna cried out and fell backwards clutching at her right arm. Jack turned his attention back to Calder. He wasn’t much of a shot, clearly, but there was no telling how good a shot the other two men might be. Calder motioned them to take custody of the three of them. “As for the rest of you, it’s time you found out what the surface of the planet is really like.”

As one of the guards drew even with the bed, Teal’c erupted suddenly, attacking and disarming the guard in one seamless move. Taking advantage of the surprise, Jack lunged forward and disarmed the second guard. Daniel attacked Calder ferociously and took his gun, pointing it at him. Carter rushed across to Brenna’s side to check her out.

“Teal’c, you all right?” Jack asked. Things were falling into place, but his memory was still spotty.

“I am,” Teal’c replied.

“What happened?” Daniel asked.

“When I removed my bandages and realized I was unlike the rest of you, I began to remember. I placed myself in a deep state of kelnoreem for the night. My symbiote restored me to health.”

“Brenna should be all right if we can get her to the . . .” Carter seemed to be searching for the right word.

“Infirmary,” Jack filled in for her.

“Right,” Carter said.

“You’ll never make it back to the stargate!” Calder blustered.

Jack had his gun trained on Calder. “You know something, we’ve got you as a hostage,” he said, and the word hostage called something up in his mind, some further reason he had for disliking Calder, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “I don’t see a problem.”

“Jonah!” Daniel said suddenly.

“Jack,” he corrected.

“Right,” Daniel said. “We can’t. We have to tell these people what’s happening here.”

Jack pursed his lips, considering this. He nodded. “Yup, you’re right.” Gesturing Calder forward, he took him out onto the platform, the others following. Jack raised his voice and called out to the people who were still sitting, eating breakfast. “Everybody! Can I have your attention please?”

They all looked up, eyes wide. No one but Brenna was permitted to do this.

“I’d like to introduce you to someone!” he yelled. “This man has been keeping you locked up down here while he and his friends live it up on the surface.”

Kegan, the silly bitch, stood up and glared at him. “What are you talking about?” she demanded.

Calder began to panic. “Don’t listen to them!” he exclaimed. “They shot Brenna!” Murmurs from below seemed to worry him. “It’s true!” he cried.

“Listen to me!” Jack yelled. “There’s a big domed city up there full of people _you_ serve! They’ve been hiding it from you your entire lives.”

Kegan shook her head, stepping further towards the stairs. “It’s a lie!” she yelled back.

“He’s telling you the truth, Kegan,” Daniel called, and this seemed to give Kegan pause. Daniel and his effect on people. An uneasy flutter of memory disturbed him, but he pushed it away to deal with later.

“You can’t let them get away!” Calder yelled, his panic more evident.

“Who are you?” Kegan demanded of Calder.

“That’s a good question,” Jack said.

“My name is Calder!” The man’s eyes were wide with fear. “I was a supervisor in the mines before I was transferred,” he said jerkily.

“Yeah, whatever!” Jack growled. He couldn’t tell if any of the workers below were buying Calder’s nonsense, but he was getting tired of the farce. “You want proof?” he asked the workers below. He looked up at the skylights and raised the gun towards it.

“No!” screamed Kegan. Other workers began to cry out in alarm.

Jack ignored them and fired. The skylight shattered, glass falling in shards and dust, glittering in the sunlight that streamed in. Beyond, the buildings of the city were visible. Everyone below fell silent. Jack looked down at the people who were clustering in the sunlight. “No ice, no snow!” he called down.

“You’ve accomplished nothing!” Calder snarled. “These people will never be accepted in the city.”

“I think you’re right about that,” Jack said, and Calder nodded, apparently thinking that meant Jack agreed with him completely.

Daniel got one of his satisfied looks and said, “That’s why we’re going to offer them a better place.” Calder’s eyes widened, and Jack couldn’t help twisting the knife a little.

“There’s this nice little tropical planet out there where the beaches go on forever!” He grinned at Calder’s appalled expression. “This I remember clearly. You and your people can do your own shoveling for a while.”

Calder shook his head, looking truly furious. “You’re destroying a way of life!” he shouted.

“That’s a shame,” Jack said insincerely. “Teal’c, you wanna show these people how to get out of here?” he said.

Teal’c went down the stairs and the rest of them retreated into the office, leaving Calder on the landing. Carter walked over to Brenna who was grimacing while cradling her injured arm.

“It hurts!” Brenna said.

“I know, try not to move it. We’re going to take you home with us.”

“Thank you,” Brenna said with a grateful smile, and Carter got her to her feet. Daniel took over from there, helping her out of the office. Jack wasn’t sure he wanted them going ahead alone, but he was caught staring at Carter. What had happened to him? He didn’t fully understand the emotions that were cascading through him, because they didn’t all match up quite right. “So, colonel,” Carter said uncomfortably.

“Major,” Jack said very properly.

“That bald man you were trying to remember . . .”

“General Hammond,” he said, and she nodded.

“Right,” she said with a smile.

“He’s from Texas, you know,” he added. “It’s all coming back.”

“Yes sir,” she said.

Jack looked down. The closeness had been nice, even if the emotions were confused. “Sir . . .” he said thoughtfully. He looked up to find her looking at him. Her expression was sad, but he didn’t know why, what was making her sad. “Let’s go home,” he said.

“Yes sir,” Carter said. She went through the doorway, and he followed her.


	22. Chapter 22

The next area was a hallway that led to a door. Daniel didn’t think he’d ever seen it before, though that could be false. The door didn’t open as Daniel and Brenna approached, and Brenna paused, looking confused. “It’s supposed to open,” she said.

Daniel nodded. “I’m sure he had it reprogrammed so that it wouldn’t,” he said. “In case you bolted or something.”

“How are we going to get through?”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Calder can get through, and we probably need him anyway. How many soldiers are there?”

“I don’t know,” Brenna replied. “I’ve never seen more than two or three at once.”

Daniel blinked. His mind was full of memories that were jockeying for attention and space. One of them popped to the forefront. He remembered being slammed down to a set of steps by a group of those soldiers. “I’ve seen more, maybe twenty,” he said. “But I don’t think they’re all that well trained.”

Jack and Sam came up behind them. “What’s up?” Jack asked. “Why aren’t we going through?”

“The door won’t open for me anymore,” Brenna said, sounding pathetic and lost.

“Right,” Jack said. “Well, we probably need a better plan than just walking out into the open. For all we know, there are a hundred men waiting on the other side of this door.”

“Then maybe we’d better go back and make sure nobody has any radios,” Daniel suggested, and Jack’s eyes widened. He hastened back through the door and Daniel took Brenna back as well, sitting her down on her bed. “Sam, find something we can use as a bandage.” She nodded and started going through Brenna’s desk. Jack was rifling through the guards’ clothing, looking for anything that resembled a radio or technology of any sort. “Should I get her jacket off, or should we wait?”

“Wait,” Jack said as he searched. “She could go into shock, and she’ll need anything warm she can get if that happens.”

“O’Neill, what are we going to do?” Teal’c asked suddenly from the doorway. “I have the workers gathered at the foot of the stairs, but I do not believe they will all fit in here.”

Jack looked up. “Right. Keep them downstairs for the moment, and I’ll come out in a few minutes to tell them what we’re going to do.”

“Very well.” He handed Jack a couple of items. “I confiscated these from Administrator Calder.”

“You will all pay for this!” Calder growled, coming back into the room. Daniel felt himself shrinking back, and he wondered why. Violent antipathy and fear surged through him as he looked into the man’s angry face.

Brenna noticed. “It’s all right, Dr. Jackson.”

“No, I don’t think it is,” he said, staring at Calder. Brenna’s gaze followed his and her eyes widened.

“Take these gentlemen downstairs and tie them to something, would you Teal’c?” Jack said suddenly, and Daniel was vaguely aware of the guards being removed from the room. In the jostling, Calder got shoved towards him, and he noticed Daniel’s reaction.

A slow malevolent smile crossed Calder’s face and Daniel had sudden flashes of memory that paralyzed him. Nothing he could grab onto, nothing that stayed for more than a moment, but enough to make him unable to think or move. Calder reached towards him and Daniel shrank back farther. Sam was coming up with a bandage and she saw Daniel’s position.

“Daniel, are you okay?” she asked.

This drew Jack’s attention, and after one look at the situation, he grabbed Calder by the arm, spinning him around. “You stay away from Daniel!” he snarled, his voice a promise of violence. “You hear me?”

Daniel could see the fear on Calder’s face, and knew that Jack wouldn’t let the bastard get close to him again. Slowly, he relaxed. Sam started bandaging Brenna’s arm, looking at him anxiously.

“He’ll be all right,” Brenna said softly. “He’s just having some unpleasant memories come back.”

He stood up abruptly and walked over to the door. “Jack, I’m going to go have a talk with the people downstairs. Someone needs to tell them something.”

Jack looked at him, then walked over. “Daniel, you okay?”

Daniel swallowed. His memories were fragmentary, but what little he had was causing him to feel very distressed. He needed to do something. “I don’t know. I think I can hold myself together.” He glanced over at Calder and felt nausea sweep through his stomach. “Find out when he’s expected back, you think?”

Jack nodded. “Okay, Daniel.”

He started towards the door, but then another memory hit him. He turned and glared at Calder, pushing the nausea aside for the moment. “Is anyone from Earth here now?” he demanded.

Calder straightened his shoulders. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said unctuously, and Daniel wanted to punch him.

Jack walked across and took Calder by the collar, shaking him. “Answer the question!” he ordered.

Calder shrank back a bit, but he didn’t answer. Jack let go, shoving him back against the wall behind him, then turned to the desk. Sorting a radio out of the jumble of confiscated items, he tossed it to Sam. “Can you program this to call on our frequencies?” he asked.

Sam caught it and looked. “Give me a couple minutes, sir, and no problem.”

Jack grimaced. “Not sure how much time we have,” he said. “I’m thinking I may have tipped our hand when I shot out the skylight.”

“You had to do it,” Daniel said. “You could have argued with them for hours and they might still not have accepted it.”

Jack nodded. “It still leaves us in a potentially compromised position.”

“Wouldn’t they have come in by now?” Daniel asked. “We can’t open the door, that doesn’t mean they can’t.”

“No . . .” Sam looked up. “I’ve been trying to remember from our tour of the city just where those skylights have to be, and I think they’re pretty far out of the way. I really think it’s possible that no one’s noticed yet.”

“Unless there’s an alarm,” Jack said.

“Right, sir.” She bit her lip and bent to the radio again.

“Daniel, I want you to go down there and talk to those people. Tell them who we are and that we plan to take them to a better place. Also tell them that getting to the better place may entail some danger. You know the drill.”

Daniel nodded, thankful that he had something to do, and that it was something that took him out of Calder’s immediate vicinity. He went out onto the landing, and saw that Teal’c wasn’t kidding. Every last soul in the plant was gathered by the foot of the stairs.

He walked down the stairs till he was only about a head and a half above everyone else and called out, “Can everyone hear me?”

“Arven’s still with Tor, tying up those two men,” called a voice from the back.

“Well, we’re not sure how much time we’re going to have,” Daniel said, “so someone will have to fill Arven in when he gets back.”

There were murmurs and nods, then Kegan pushed her way to the front. “What’s going on, Carlin?” she asked softly.

He reached out and squeezed her shoulder, then looked over the group. “First of all, Thera, Jonah, Tor and I are friends. We came here, to the city, from a distant place to try and arrange a trade between the people here and our own people.”

“You traveled over the ice?” asked someone.

“There is no ice!” yelled another.

Daniel raised a hand and they fell silent. “There is ice,” he said. “This planet is going through an ice age, but a solution to the problem of survival was found long ago. It just requires a lot of power, and the people in the city found it easier to keep you folks down here producing it than to work out another source.”

Kegan looked up at the spires that were visible through the skylight. “So they lied to us?”

“Yes, they lied. They’ve been lying for a long time. We found out about you and Jack . . . Jonah . . . told Calder, the guy you saw earlier, that we wouldn’t trade with a nation that treated its own people the way they were treating you.”

“Is that why the four of you wound up down here?” Mevor called. Daniel nodded. “Is Thera some kind of engineer?”

“Sort of,” Daniel said. “She’s a . . .” He shrugged, not sure how much ‘theoretical astrophysicist’ would mean to them. “She’s a scientist, and her real name is Samantha Carter.”

“What’s your name?” someone else asked. Daniel couldn’t get a line of sight on him.

“My name is Daniel Jackson. But more importantly, we plan to take you home with us. That’s going to take something of an effort, and it could be dangerous.”

There was a lot of murmuring at that, then one voice rose above the rest. “Why dangerous?”

“Because the people of the city aren’t going to want to let their captive work force go.” Daniel saw a few faces harden at the word ‘captive’ and he was glad he’d chosen it. “See, they’ve got ways of making you forget things. The memory problems you all have aren’t a result of the ore or anything else, but are actually because of something they do to you, called a ‘stamp.’ That’s what they did to us, made us forget who and what we were.” He had everyone’s attention now. He knew that there wasn’t a person in the group who hadn’t had some amount of memory stolen from them. “It makes you complacent, content to accept that this is all there is.”

“So what are we going to do?”

Teal’c and Arven were approaching, and the Jaffa greeted Daniel with one of his nods. “We will take you to DanielJackson’s homeworld, where we will find you a suitable place to live and work in peace.”

“And your world,” said Aron loudly, “it’s not covered in ice?”

“No,” Daniel said. “And there are other worlds, many other worlds, most of which are not in the middle of an ice age. We will find you a place to go that will suit you.” They were all looking at each other in alarm. “I know it sounds kind of scary.”

“How do we know you won’t just turn around and make us work for you?” Arven demanded.

“All I can say is that we won’t. We don’t make slaves of people. In my land, people work, but they get paid for what they do, and they can live where they want. It’s –”

“Daniel!” Jack called from the landing. “Wrap it up down there! I got through to Kovacek. Hammond’s sending through two teams to hold the gate and make a path to us, and he knows we’re going to have company for dinner!”

Daniel nodded and turned back to the crowd. “Okay, we’re going to be leaving soon. The people who look like those guys back there are not friendlies. Guys in black with big black weapons are our people. I’ll point one out to you when we see one. Everyone keep together as much as you can. Jack – Jonah, Thera, Teal’c and I will stay with you. We’re heading for a means to get back to my world, but I’d better warn you, it’s going to seem strange. It will be a big circle of stone and there will be . . .” He stopped. “Just follow where we lead. I promise, we won’t take you someplace bad.”

“Okay!” Jack called. “Send them up in groups of ten or so, the first group should include someone who can help Brenna walk. I’m going ahead with Calder. Daniel, you and Teal’c bring up the rear. Carter will keep people moving up here.”

They followed Jack’s instructions, but it took forever. There were about three hundred people down here, and moving that many people in groups of ten . . . after a while, Daniel sent Teal’c up to let them know when Sam was ready for the next group.

When they were down the last fifteen or so, Daniel decided they should all go up together. He gestured all of them to go up ahead of him and fell in behind, surprised to find that Kegan was right in front of him. She’d been at the front of the group when the exodus started, how had she wound up being last?

Teal’c and Daniel played shepherd, keeping people together, rounding up strays. Kegan kept close to him the whole way, and Daniel smiled at her sympathetically. This had to be pretty scary. At one point, Teal’c moved further up the column of refugees to see what was delaying things.

Evidently, Jack had elected to take the stairs, which suited Daniel. When he finally reached the doorway, he saw that the closing mechanism had been jammed so that they couldn’t shut the stairwell down and block them in. There were surprisingly few guards, which made Daniel nervous. Where were they, and what were they waiting for?

Things seemed to be moving incredibly slowly and unbelievably quickly at the same time. Daniel reached the landing on the fourteenth floor and gazed briefly at the stairs where he had been stopped on his escape attempt. From there, he went into the museum. The rooms here were larger than the halls down below had been, so they were able to group up tighter, and Daniel finally saw one of his own people. “Griff!” he called with relief.

“Dr. Jackson! Good to see you.”

The workers were looking at the items in the museum, staring at the relics in fascination. “Everyone stay together!” Daniel called. “We don’t have time to look around!” There were far too many doors in here for Daniel’s comfort.

Jack’s voice crackled out of Griff’s radio. “We’re almost there, people. Keep moving.”

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Home. Soon. Ahead of him somewhere, he heard the sound of someone pressing the buttons on a DHD. At that moment, all hell broke loose. Red-clad guards came pouring into the room from all the doors, and the workers started pushing forward. Daniel, Griff and a lieutenant whose name Daniel couldn’t remember kept them moving swiftly but not panicking. The guards were aiming at them, but no one was shooting.

A voice spoke over a PA system Daniel hadn’t even known about. “Stop them! They’re escaping through the circle!”

“Everyone stop and stay where you are!” one of the guards yelled.

Some of the workers hesitated, but Daniel shouted, “Keep moving!”

The guard repeated the order a couple of times, and then they started shooting, not at people, but over their heads. People started screaming and trying to run, and Griff grabbed his radio. “Pick up the pace, O’Neill! We’ve got hostiles here!”

Daniel shot one of the guards and then turned to aim at another. Eight workers boiled out of the line and swarmed another. They took him down, but two of them were wounded in the process. Things got crazy after that, and Daniel just kept trying to keep people moving towards the door.

They entered the next room and found more dead guards and a few dead workers. There was a man Daniel knew on the ground, Sgt. Grimes off SG-2. His head was in pieces. “Keep going,” Daniel said. “Keep moving.”

It was clear that the guards had not been given orders to fire actually at the workers unless they were directly attacked, but by now enough of the guards were dead that several workers had weapons that they were firing without much effect other than adding to the noise and confusion.

A couple of the guards seemed to have gotten a different idea of how to stop the mass exodus, albeit on a small scale. Griff was further forward, keeping the group moving without crushing each other when Daniel saw a pair of guards holding several of the workers, maybe fifteen or twenty pinned down in a corner behind a display. Kegan grabbed for one of the guards, struggling with him, but she was considerably weaker than he was. He shoved her away, knocking her into a wall. Daniel shot him, but then the gun he was carrying ran out of bullets, so he launched himself at the other man, clubbing him with the butt of the pistol. “Run, everyone! Go!” he shouted.

He heard pounding feet going past, but his attention was focused on the struggle. The guard tried to bring his weapon around to Daniel, but Daniel smashed his arm against the display, causing him to drop it. The struggle continued until Kegan rose up behind the guard and brought a bar of metal down on his head. The guard went down like a log and Daniel grabbed Kegan and turned to run. It was slow going. Kegan was having some trouble keeping her feet, but Daniel couldn’t pick her up. He didn’t have the time to stop, and he was afraid he’d drop her with the way his arms and legs felt. One of his knees was threatening to collapse under him.

When they reached the gate room, Daniel saw Jack, slung over Arven’s shoulder, going through the gate, an alarming amount of blood on his back. The sight struck him to the heart, but he didn’t have time to think about it. The room was rapidly filling with local guards and emptying of workers and SGC personnel. There was a regular firefight going on at the gate. Major Griff, Harmon from SG-9 and two workers whose names Daniel suddenly couldn’t recall were firing into the crowd of soldiers. Tofan and Leryn came up beside him and Kegan. Leryn took Kegan and threw her over his shoulder in something like a fireman’s carry, and Tofan grabbed Daniel around the waist and helped him move forward at a faster pace.

Harmon saw them and let out a call that made Griff look up. They focused their fire in Daniel’s direction, clearing a path. As they reached the gate, Harmon took a blow to the upper left of his chest. Daniel shook Tofan off and said, “Get him through.” He grabbed Tofan’s weapon and turned to start firing himself, scanning the room to see if anyone else was left behind. He didn’t see anyone, either worker or SGC. “Sam?” he asked Griff. “Teal'c?”

“They’re both on the other side,” Griff said. “You’re the last.”

Daniel was dimly aware of Leryn taking Kegan through the gate. He and Griff started to back through, but Daniel heard a grunt from Griff, and the minute they were on the other side of the gate, the major dropped his weapon and grabbed for his left hip, collapsing. Daniel caught him and lowered him gently. “Close the gate!” he yelled. “We’re the last!”

The gate winked out of existence, and Daniel looked up to see organized chaos in the gateroom. Jack was nowhere to be seen, and he didn’t see Janet among the medical personnel that were triaging the new arrivals. He hoped desperately that Jack was okay, but then the gate started to spin, and the first chevron locked.

“Leryn!” Daniel called, and the worker turned from his stunned survey of the room he was in. Kegan was already at the foot of the ramp, being looked at by a medic, but Leryn was about three feet closer. “Help me get him away from the gate,” Daniel said. “If it opens, the . . . it’s dangerous to be too close when it opens.”

Leryn came up and they carried Griff down to the base of the ramp. The iris closed behind them and the medic who had been looking at Kegan turned to Griff. Rapidly, he got Griff onto a stretcher and moved towards the infirmary. Kegan turned to stare at Daniel. “Are you all right, Carlin?” she asked, reaching for his face. Her hand came away bloody, and Daniel realized that there was a gash in his forehead that stung painfully.

“I’ll live,” he said. The gate came fully on, and there was a loud thump that made Daniel turn and stare. Someone had come through. A moment later, the gate went dead again, and he realized that they must have sent someone through to call when he got to the other side. He remembered Sam telling one of the dinner gatherings that radio waves passed both ways through the wormhole, and Jack telling them about the iris. They’d sacrificed someone to test the situation. It left Daniel feeling kind of stunned and horrified, but he didn’t have much emotional energy left.

The seriously injured had largely been removed, and now the SFs were organizing the remaining workers into groups based on their injury levels. He shook his head when one of them came up to him. “I’m fine,” he said. “I can get to the infirmary on my own. See to them.”

The guard turned to Kegan and helped her over to a group of ambulatory injured. Leryn had already been taken to a group of those who were largely untouched by the battle. Daniel was sagging, feeling very much undone by the events of the last three hours or so. Memories were still coming in flashes, horrible and mundane, disturbing and just weird.

He started to move forward, towards the exit when he felt a strong and angry grip seize him by the neck. Surprise froze him briefly, then he felt a cylinder pressed to his skin just under his jawbone. People were staring, alarmed, and the SFs Daniel could see raised their weapons in his direction. “Drop them!” ordered a voice that made Daniel’s insides curdle, and he suddenly realized why the guards back on 118 had been so willing to sacrifice themselves. “Drop them or I will kill him!” Calder snapped when the SFs made no move to obey his first command.

Daniel watched them lower their guns, and he wondered if he dared try to fight Calder for control of his weapon. The man was not a soldier, but that might just make him more dangerous, and the weapon was firmly placed. Daniel really didn’t want him to fire.

Silence fell in the room, and Hammond entered from the doorway to Daniel’s right. “What do you want?” he asked Calder, who started backwards up the gate ramp, dragging Daniel with him.

“Open that thing,” Calder ordered. “I’m going back home.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Administrator Calder,” Hammond said. “Let Dr. Jackson go and –”

“No!” Calder shouted. “Don’t come any closer!” Hammond stopped, his eyes on Calder’s face. “I am going home, and Daniel is coming with me.” Daniel closed his eyes, horror surging through him at that thought. The man’s touch was enough to make him want to have a hysterical fit of screaming, but he didn’t do or say anything, fearful that it would alarm Calder. “Open the gate.”

“We’re not sending you home,” Hammond said seriously. “And we are certainly not letting you take Dr. Jackson with you.”

“I will kill him,” Calder said, and he pressed the weapon more firmly into Daniel’s throat. “He is mine, and I will do with him as I please.”

Daniel’s eyes snapped open in time to see Hammond’s eyes widen. “If you kill him, you lose your bargaining chip, and we will kill you.”

“But this man is of value to you,” Calder said. “You will not risk it. You let him come through the gate with me, and he will survive. If you do not, I will –”

“DanielJackson!” Teal'c shouted from the left doorway, and Daniel knew what he was about to do. He went completely limp, startling Calder into dropping him. The zat fired, and Daniel got just a peripheral blast. Calder took the whole thing and fell like a stone. SFs hustled up and dragged him away, Hammond ordering them to take him to a cell.

A spasm wrenched Daniel’s stomach. He rolled over and started vomiting on the floor. The very thought that Calder might have gotten away with him was enough to make him physically ill. Teal'c waited until he was done, then helped him to his feet.


	23. Chapter 23

Teal'c helped DanielJackson out of the gateroom, feeling very much as if he had committed a terrible error. How Administrator Calder had gotten through the gate without anyone being the wiser was beyond him, but that he had been permitted to take control of DanielJackson was unforgivable. Teal'c had clearly let his guard down in an unacceptable manner.

However, DanielJackson had never reacted to a zatnicatel with physical nausea before, and that worried Teal'c. He thought there must be something wrong inside DanielJackson, some internal injury that had led to this violent nausea. Leaving General Hammond to deal with the workers from 118, he took DanielJackson hastily to the infirmary where he found that there were no staff members to treat him.

“Stay here, DanielJackson,” he said, helping the young man to a seat. “I will find someone to help you.”

DanielJackson caught his arm. “No, Teal'c, they all need help more than I do,” he said weakly. “Please, just get me something to wash my mouth out into, and something to drink?”

“You are seriously unwell,” Teal'c said firmly. “You vomited. A zatnicatel should not cause that reaction. There must be –”

“That has nothing to do with my physical health,” DanielJackson said. “Teal'c, trust me, if I had an internal injury, I would say something, but I don’t. I just . . .” His face clouded up. “My memories are coming back and they’re not particularly pleasant.” Teal'c gazed at him worriedly, but he seemed perfectly serious. “Please, something to drink and a basin to wash my mouth out into?”

Against his better judgment, Teal'c did as he was asked, and DanielJackson did seem less unwell than he would have expected if he’d suffered some serious internal injury. Teal'c dumped the basin out once DanielJackson had finished with it, and put it in the washable biohazards bin. Then he went and found some medical supplies. He strapped an icepack around DanielJackson’s knee, and tended the cut in his forehead.

When he was done, DanielJackson smiled up at him. “Can you find out how Jack is for me?” he asked, and Teal'c grimaced.

“He was seriously wounded during the fighting,” he said, uncertain how much DanielJackson knew.

The other man nodded. “I know. I saw him go through the gate, but . . . he’s not dead, right?” The earnest worry and near-desperation in DanielJackson’s face made Teal'c feel the need for haste in finding out the answer to his question.

“He was not dead when he came through the gate,” Teal'c said. “I will find out how he is and return in a moment.”

DanielJackson relaxed against the back of his chair and Teal'c walked to the nurse who was coordinating the care for this influx of severely wounded aliens and SGC personnel. “Teal'c,” she said with a worried smile. “Are you injured?”

He shook his head. “I am not. However, I wish to know how O'Neill is. DanielJackson is worried.”

Her eyes went to where the young archeologist sat, and she nodded. “He would be.” She looked down at the charts in front of her and found the right one. “Colonel O'Neill is out of danger. The wound was relatively superficial, and he’s in post-op right now. Still unconscious, or I’d send you two to him.” She glanced through her charts, and looked at DanielJackson again. “Has Dr. Jackson been triaged?”

“I do not believe so,” Teal'c said, looking over at his charge. There was no triage tag on his garments. No doubt he had been more concerned for their guests than for himself when he had first arrived, and then Administrator Calder had attacked him.

“Let me get that dealt with, then,” she said. “Lt. Roman, go get a look at Dr. Jackson.” She nodded in the right direction, and Teal'c saw a young intern head towards DanielJackson. “How about you, Teal'c, has anyone actually looked at you?”

“I have taken no injury that my symbiote cannot handle in a matter of hours,” Teal'c said.

“It’s nice to have one of you guys who does the healing himself,” she replied with an amused grin, and he nodded, moving off to rejoin DanielJackson.

Predictably, his teammate was objecting to Lt. Roman’s attempts to see to his health. “There are people who need you a lot more urgently than I do,” he was saying as Teal'c approached.

“Then allow him to complete his task and he can get back to them sooner, DanielJackson,” Teal'c said with an internal smile. DanielJackson complied with an irritated look.

Within moments, the intern was done with his work, and he said, “See, that wasn’t so bad, Dr. Jackson. You’ll be fine.”

“I told you that,” DanielJackson said sourly, but Lt. Roman did not take any offense. The people here knew DanielJackson’s temperament only too well. “So, how’s Jack?”

“His wound was superficial. He is currently unconscious in post-op, but he will recover.”

DanielJackson let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. And Sam?”

“She is unhurt,” Teal'c said. “As am I.”

“Good.” The young man took a deep breath. “Where is Sam?”

“She is helping with the workers, getting the uninjured ones settled, and –”

“What is that?” exclaimed a woman from across the room. “Please, I have done nothing wrong –”

DanielJackson was on his feet and moving swiftly to her side before Teal'c could react. “Relana,” he said, as he reached the woman’s side and gently disentangled her grip from the arm of the nurse who was trying to place an IV needle into her arm. “It’s all right.”

“Carlin?” Relana said confusedly. “I do not understand. What is it she is trying to do to me?”

Teal'c watched as DanielJackson helped the nurse explain the need for the IV, watched Relana relax and come to some level of calm over the situation. DanielJackson had a truly amazing effect on people. He helped several of the other workers understand what the medical staff were doing until an orderly came and told them that O'Neill was asking for DanielJackson.

The archeologist looked around and made certain that no one else appeared to need immediate assistance, then hurried to O'Neill’s side. Teal'c followed at a discreet distance, not wishing to intrude on the reunion, but also not wishing to leave.

O'Neill was sitting up slightly in bed. He leaned forward at DanielJackson’s approach. “Daniel, you okay?” he asked.

“I’m good,” came the reply, and Teal'c saw that he wasn’t going to tell O'Neill about the attack. “I was a little worried about you. Pretty much hated seeing you go through the gate over someone else’s shoulder with a heavily bleeding wound. Don’t do it again.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Teal'c heard a worker’s voice raised in protest behind them, and DanielJackson started to turn. “I will see to it, DanielJackson. Stay with O'Neill.”

He left them alone together. Perhaps this fear for O'Neill would give DanielJackson the knowledge he required to understand how much he and O'Neill needed one another.

* * *

“So, Daniel,” Jack said, looking up at his friend. “Are you really okay, or are you just saying that?”

Daniel plucked at the triage tag on his jacket. “Green, see, I’m fine.”

Jack gave Daniel a weary grin. So, he was going to go all close-mouthed. What a shocker. “Have they examined you yet?”

“Just enough to know that there’s nothing life-threatening,” Daniel said. Jack gazed at him worriedly. Had he remembered anything yet? The way he’d pulled away from Calder back in Brenna’s room could have been less memory and more gut feeling. Jack’s reaction had been mostly gut feeling, but the memory of seeing Daniel tortured on a TV screen had come back and left him filled with an anger that burned away the fog of the drugs. And Daniel still had no way of knowing that Jack had seen what had happened, so even if he remembered, he might not say anything.

“Calder came through the gate, did you know that?” Daniel said, and Jack’s eyes went straight to Daniel’s.

“What?”

“He came through the gate. I guess whoever you set to watching him pulled him through, or he went through on his own, I don’t know, but he’s here.”

“Does Hammond have him under lock and key?” Jack demanded. Daniel nodded. “So . . . do you . . .”

“Do I what?” Daniel asked, and Jack’s courage deserted him. Later would be soon enough.

“Nothing. How’s Carter?”

They talked for a while before a nurse came and took Daniel away to be checked over. A few minutes after he left, Fraiser came in and picked up Jack’s chart.

“Why aren’t you with Daniel?” he asked.

“Daniel has a graze on his forehead and a wrenched knee,” she said with a serious look. “You have a through and through bullet wound. I’m a little more worried about –”

“You shouldn’t be,” Jack said. “Daniel has more severe injuries than that, they’re just older. You need to be with him, because I’m afraid he won’t talk about them to anyone else.”

“What are you talking about?” Fraiser asked.

“Of course, that assumes he’s remembered them at this point,” Jack said. “This sucks!”

“Colonel, you need to tell me what you’re on about.”

Jack bit his lips and took a deep breath, controlling his own reactions. “Daniel has been raped, at least twice, probably a lot more often than that.”

Fraiser’s eyes widened. “When?”

“I’m not really clear on how much time has passed since the first time,” Jack said. “But it was clear when he arrived down below that Calder hadn’t let up on him any. He was covered in bite marks and bruises. That was about two weeks ago, maybe three. There aren’t any clear time markers down there.”

“And he might not remember?” she asked.

Jack grimaced. “The stamp . . .” he said urgently. “They do something that affects memory. I don’t remember everything that happened, but I do remember Calder raping Daniel, okay?”

“Okay. I’ll go see to him.”

“Fraiser,” Jack called as she started to leave. She turned and looked at him. “He doesn’t know I know,” he said. “I . . . Calder . . . I saw, but Daniel doesn’t know I saw.”

Fraiser nodded, eyes wide, and hurried out of the room. A few minutes later Warner came in and took up where Fraiser had left off with him. Jack struggled to keep his emotions in check as the memory of watching helplessly while Calder attacked Daniel played over and over again in his mind.

* * *

Janet walked up as Dr. Warner finished wrapping Daniel’s knee. “Daniel,” she said a smile. “I need you to come with me. Dr. Warner, would you go check on Colonel O'Neill?”

Warner stood up looking puzzled and did as she asked, and Janet took Daniel into one of the private exam rooms. “What’s up, Janet?” Daniel asked. He turned in alarm. “Nothing’s wrong with Jack or the others is there?”

She shook her head. “No, Daniel, but . . .” She grimaced. “Sit down, please,” she said, and he sat on one of the chairs. She sat on the rolling stool. “I just spoke with Colonel O'Neill, and he explained some about the stamp and memory problems,” she said. Daniel nodded, still mystified. “Do you remember everything that happened to you?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, not everything, though there’s a lot that’s . . .” He closed his eyes. He had to tell her. He’d been trying to work himself up to saying something to Warner, but he’d half hoped that the fading bruises on his body would make the man ask a question that would make it easier for Daniel to bring the subject up, but he’d asked nothing.

“What, Daniel?” Janet said, drawing closer and putting her hand on his arm.

He looked into her eyes, full of warm, rich sympathy. “You know,” he said. “How do you know? Did Calder, has he been . . .” Daniel wrapped his arms around his chest, struggling to control tears that wanted to burst forth.

“No,” Janet said. “Or not as far as I know. Daniel, Colonel O'Neill told me he that he was forced to witness some of what happened to you, and he was concerned that you wouldn’t remember.”

Daniel stared at her. “Jack . . . Jack saw . . .” His gut twisted, and he lurched to the sink in the room and vomited again. Janet ran him a glass of water and let him wash his mouth out, then helped him sit back down. Daniel’s mind was reeling. How had Jack seen it? Where had he been? Calder . . . he’d known how Jack felt. He must have done it on purpose. All those remarks he’d made about Jack, those questions, the threats, how much did Jack know?

“Yes,” Fraiser said gently. “And I don’t know what he saw or exactly what happened, so you need to tell me and I need to examine you.”

Daniel took a deep breath. “He was . . . very careful,” he said. “He wanted me to . . . to last.”

Janet’s eyes widened. “I will still need to examine you, Daniel,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.” Daniel nodded. “Please tell me what happened.”

Daniel bit his lip and looked at the ceiling. Then he said, “Calder raped me. Penile penetration, on several occasions. He also loaned me to one of his friends who also raped me, and engaged in oral sex.” One of his hands, quite independent of his will, made a vague gesture in the direction of his own penis, and Janet’s face creased with sympathy. “Once he used . . .” Daniel flushed. “He used an appliance, something that was designed to increase the pain . . . it was . . . knobs or something on the outside. I never saw it, just felt it.”

“I see,” she said, making notes, and Daniel felt his gorge rising again at the thought that she was writing it down.

He swallowed convulsively. “He also hit me several times, in the face, and used a collar on my throat that . . .” He found that he still had limited control over his hands as one of them rose to his neck. “It choked me. I was . . .” He reached blindly towards the box of tissue on the counter as his tears overflowed. Janet handed them to him. “I was tied down to a bed and the collar held my neck so that I had to remain flat. It was pretty . . . pretty awful.” He paused, taking a deep breath. Janet didn’t say anything, but he heard the scratch of her pen on the paper. “He bit me, breaking the skin, and he gave me a lot of hickeys. And he drugged me, but only once, until he’d made it clear that if I didn’t cooperate at least minimally, he’d do to Jack what he was doing to me.”

“Oh, Daniel,” Janet said, and she enveloped him in a tight hug. He cried on her shoulder for a few moments, then she drew back and looked him in the eye. “Was there anything else?”

He shook his head. “No, that about sums it up.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to get undressed,” she said, and Daniel nodded. He endured the exam and then went towards the room where Jack had been. Halfway there he stopped. What was he going to say to Jack? How could he face him? After a moment, he forced his feet to start moving again and walked in.

Jack looked up. There was another bed in this room, but there was no one in it. “Daniel?” he said. “You okay?”

Daniel shook his head. “You saw?” he asked. Jack’s face went white, and he nodded. “How much?”

“The first two times,” Jack said. “After that he sent me down into the plant.”

“And you forgot,” Daniel said numbly.

“I tried not to,” Jack protested, leaning forward despite the pain Daniel could see it caused him.

Daniel pushed him back, shaking his head. “That’s not what I meant, Jack,” he said. “I’m not angry or upset. It was just a statement of fact.”

“Well, I’m angry,” Jack said. “I didn’t remember anything until you got so alarmed by Calder in Brenna’s room.”

Daniel snorted. “Don’t sweat it, then. You beat me. I didn’t remember anything for real till we were back here.”

“God, Daniel, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. He wouldn’t have –”

“None of it was your fault,” Daniel said, trying to stem the tide. If Jack wasn’t careful he’d say something that could get him kicked out. “Calder saw what he wanted to see.”

“You said he’s here,” Jack said suddenly. “Did he touch you? Did he –” Jack broke off, and Daniel wondered what his face looked like because Jack was staring at him. “What happened?”

“Nothing much,” Daniel said. “He just grabbed me and tried to use me as a hostage to get Hammond to open the gate. Teal'c zatted him and all is well.”

“I’ll kill him,” Jack said.

“He’s locked up, Jack. He can’t do anything.” Daniel sat down and propped his leg up on a chair, resting his arm on the bed next to Jack. “And I, for one, would rather not think about him any more right now. I’m going to have to talk about him all too much later.”

“Right,” Jack said, reaching out and resting his hand on Daniel’s. He looked up at the wall opposite his bed. “One thing, though,” he said, and Daniel sighed.

“Yes, Jack?”

“Don’t you dare, ever again, offer yourself in our place like you did.” Daniel’s eyes widened. “Never.”

“Jack, I am not going to let anything happen to you or the others if it’s in my power to stop it.” He glared at his friend. “Never.”

Jack’s hand closed around his. “It’s not worth it, Daniel. I couldn’t live with myself if –”

“Knock it off, Jack,” Daniel said. “Do you think I could live with myself if my inaction caused something to happen to you or Sam or Teal'c?”

“Yes, damn it!” Jack growled. “You’re the civilian. It’s not your job to –”

“We’re a team, Jack,” Daniel shot back, pulling his hand out of Jack’s grip.

“For crying out loud, Daniel, yes, we’re a team.” Jack glared at him. “And in a team each member’s duties are defined clearly. Carter, Teal'c and I protect you, and you get home safely. That’s how it works.”

“I never agreed to those rules,” Daniel said stubbornly.

“You joined the team, you accepted those rules,” Jack snapped.

“I define my membership in our team in my own way.”

“Damn it, Daniel, the order of priority in terms of who gets saved first are you, Carter, Teal'c and then me. That’s the way it is.”

“I don’t see it that way,” Daniel retorted. “And I won’t. I’m no more or less expendable than you are.”

“Daniel!”

“Gentlemen?” Daniel looked up to see a very puzzled and vaguely alarmed General Hammond in the doorway.

“General,” he said, flushing.

“Sir,” Jack said.

“Can I mediate this dispute?” the general asked, going around the bed and sitting in another chair.

“Sir, would you please tell Daniel why his life is more important than mine?” Jack said.

“Jack!” Daniel exclaimed. “It wasn’t my life that was on the line.”

Jack made a few noises that were both angry and incoherent, and General Hammond looked alarmed. “Would you please explain what you’re talking about?”

“Daniel, that was your life,” Jack said, getting his words back.

“He wasn’t going to kill me, Jack,” Daniel replied. “You know that.”

“No, he was going to keep you,” Jack snarled. “That’s your life. Your whole life.”

Daniel flinched back from the idea of spending his whole life in Calder’s control. “I knew you would come for me,” he said.

* * *

Jack stared at the utter conviction in Daniel’s eyes and wanted to scream, wanted to get up and shake him, but he knew it wouldn’t help. “Your confidence is touching,” he said instead. “But damn it, Daniel, why can’t I make you understand –”

“Because I refuse to buy into this notion of one life being more valuable than other lives. I am not more important, more . . .” He paused seeming to be searching for words.

“No one said that one life is more valuable than other lives,” General Hammond said.

“Jack just –”

“Dr. Jackson, he said your life is more important than his, with that I have to agree.” Daniel started to shake his head, but Jack reached out and grabbed his hand again, silencing him. He wanted Daniel to hear what the general had to say as much as Daniel didn’t want to hear it. “It’s not that your life is more valuable. Human life isn’t measurable in that sense. However, if you were to weigh all the lives on earth against Colonel O'Neill’s life, which would you say was more worthy of being saved?”

“That isn’t a fair question,” Daniel said.

“No, it’s not, but we don’t live in a fair world,” Hammond replied. “How many linguists do we have who can do what you do? Both reading and speaking Goa'uld, as well as learning other languages with the speed and accuracy you do?”

“That’s not the point,” Daniel said but Hammond shook his head.

“It is the point,” Hammond said.

“Yeah, Daniel,” Jack said, squeezing his friend’s hand. Daniel’s eyes met his in a moment of heart-searing intensity. “Realistically, you have a better chance of being able to make a difference in the survival of earth and all its people than I do.” Daniel opened his mouth, but Jack overrode him. “Your skill base is more irreplaceable than mine. So is Carter’s for that matter, but we have at least half a dozen astrophysicists who could be brought up to her level. There isn’t another linguist on earth who can do what you do.” Daniel stared at him, looking stricken. “Frankly, I’m not sure there’s another linguist anywhere who can do what you do.”

Daniel shook his head. “That’s not fair,” he said again, his voice weak.

“No, it’s not,” Jack replied. “But it’s true.”

There was a silence, and Daniel didn’t take his hand away this time, for which Jack was grateful. In fact, he seemed to hold on tighter. Jack really hoped he was offering some comfort.

When Hammond spoke again, they both looked up. “I’m sorry to . . . I have to ask you both what happened. Dr. Jackson, do you feel up to having a debriefing?”

Daniel’s hand tightened further on Jack’s, but he nodded. “Do we need to go somewhere else?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so. With Administrator Calder here, this has become a criminal investigation, so we need to follow all the correct procedures, one of which is interviewing witnesses separately.”

Daniel nodded and stood up. Jack squeezed his hand once more before he left, and Daniel gave him a weak smile. Hammond, looking unhappy and uncomfortable, followed him out of the room.

Jack wished he had Calder in front of him right now. The prick wouldn’t face any kind of an investigation then. He’d just face his judge, jury and executioner, all wrapped up into one man.


	24. Chapter 24

Daniel followed the general into the briefing room and sat down. There was a video camera in the room with Sgt. Kramer behind it, and he sat down without looking at either the camera or the operator. General Hammond sat down in his usual place. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jackson.”

“It’s fine,” Daniel said, looking down at his hands.

“Please describe to me what took place on P3R-118 in your own words.”

Daniel began with the mission, describing their tours and the growing uncertainty that both he and Teal'c had felt regarding their hosts. Then he told the general about his and Jack’s discovery of the underground plant.

“All right, Dr. Jackson, what happened then?”

Daniel grimaced. “Jack told Sam and Teal'c to continue their tour and we headed back to the administration building to confront Calder.” He swallowed. “Calder blew us off. He didn’t seem to think that they were doing anything wrong. Jack called him on it, and he placed us under arrest.” Daniel was finding this part of the story more difficult to tell, not surprisingly, but it was coming back to him without trouble. His memory was beginning to feel almost whole again. “They subdued us and took us to separate cells, and that was the last time I saw Jack until I was sent down to work in the plant. I . . .” He gulped. “I didn’t see any of them again until then.”

“I see. Go on.”

“I stayed in the cell for about twelve hours by my watch, then they pulled me out for some kind of medical exam. I tried to talk to the doctor, to get through to her, maybe get her to realize that something was wrong, but she sedated me.” He glanced up at the camera and away again. His gut was roiling, but staying under control. “I woke up in a small bedroom in Calder’s apartments. I didn’t know that then, but that’s where I was, and I was . . . I was naked.” He stopped for a moment, unable to find the words to go on.

“Then what happened?”

Daniel looked up at the corner of the room and tried to pretend he was talking about someone else. “There was nothing in the room that I could use to cover up. It was clearly intended as a cell.” Daniel closed his eyes. “I was there for a few minutes, and then guards came and took me to a room that was kind of like a study. They made me kneel down beside a chair and after a short time Calder came in.”

“Were you still naked?” Hammond asked.

Daniel nodded. “They don’t seem to have the same nudity taboos there,” he said. “I was taken past a girl, a servant, who wasn’t more than twelve, and no one batted an eye.” Hammond nodded, and gestured for him to continue. Daniel moistened his lips. “He explained the situation. We had been tried and judged as troublemakers, and been bound to serve. That’s what they do to criminals there. They become workers.” Daniel shuddered. “He said that Jack and the others had been sent below, to serve the city with their memories altered so that they wouldn’t mind or even realize that there was anything wrong. I was to serve him.” Daniel reached up and rubbed his stinging eyes. It was a truly humiliating memory, and worse was coming.

“Do you need a break?” Hammond asked, and Daniel shook his head.

“No, I’ll . . . if I take a break every time something bothers me, this will take a week,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “He told me what he was planning to tell you, that we’d gone out onto the ice and were lost, and then he had me taken to his bedroom and tied down to his bed, spread-eagled, with a collar around my neck.” His fists were clenched as he recalled the memory. “It was attached to the mattress,” he added. “Calder came in and started . . . he started playing with me, talking to me, telling me . . .” He shook his head. “He somehow got the idea that Jack . . . that Jack and I are more than friends. I’m not sure where that came from, but . . .” He took a deep breath. “He asked me what Jack calls me when we’re alone together. I told him that we don’t have the kind of relationship he seemed to think we do, and he struck me across the face. Figuring that it was better not to try and reason with an idiot, I just told him what Jack calls me anyway, which is Daniel.”

“I see,” Hammond said, and he seemed to be believing Daniel. He certainly hoped so, because the last thing he wanted was for this to end up with Jack out of the program. “Go on.”

“So, he started to . . . he kept touching me, and I managed to actually pull free of the ropes that were tying me to the bed. I twisted and knocked him off . . .” He flushed. “I . . . he’d climbed up to straddle me at that point.”

“Was he clothed?” Hammond asked.

Daniel closed his eyes and nodded. “He was wearing pants, but nothing else, and he was . . . excited.”

“Go on.”

Daniel nodded again. “I knocked him off, and my right hand came free and I punched him. I don’t know if he was dazed or unconscious, but he was down for a while. I kept working on getting loose. My left hand was still tied and I still had the collar on, and my ankles were tied. I got them loose before Calder came to himself again, but I wasn’t able to get both my feet free before he called for the guards. I fought, but there were three of them, and I . . .” He looked down at the table. “They dragged me back to that cell-like room again. Some time passed and the guards came back with another man who had a syringe. They held me down and drugged me, then took me back to Calder’s room. During the time I was gone, I guess he had the ropes replaced with chains, because they chained me to the bed and left me there. It was . . . twenty minutes or thereabouts before Calder came in and . . . and started up again. I couldn’t get loose. I couldn’t stop him. He wanted me to admit that he was my owner, and he . . . I wouldn’t, so he hit me. How much . . . what . . . how much do you want to know?”

“Please give us all the details, Dr. Jackson,” Hammond said gently, and Daniel felt tears come to his eyes again.

“Right,” he said. “Okay.” He took a deep breath, and then another, trying to keep from crying. “I was still affected by the drug somewhat when he came in, but he was pretty clear that the drug was more to keep the guards from having to hurt me than to keep me from hurting him. He said he didn’t want me damaged _before_ he got started.” Hammond nodded, and Daniel could see the sick dismay beneath the calm surface Hammond was projecting. Seeing that made Daniel feel a little less like he was a good soldier reporting in, and more like a man talking to a caring friend. “I told him he was disgusting, and he asked me why I had a problem with it because it was just a part of their culture. He told me I would acclimate, and I told him he was wrong. Then he . . .” Daniel felt his heart start to beat hard in his chest, and his stomach was a mass of acid by now. “He said that he had the power of life and death over Jack and the others. I . . . I told him I would stay if he’d let them go.”

“You what?” Hammond exclaimed, eyes widening.

“I couldn’t . . . I knew that if Jack, Sam and Teal'c were here that none of you would stop trying to get me back, but if you believed that story about us going out on the ice, you might never know what happened to us. I thought if they could go back, it would make rescue more likely, and at least they’d be safe. He told me that men Jack’s age didn’t last long in the plant because the work was too much for them.”

“Is that why Colonel O'Neill was yelling at you?” Hammond asked incredulously.

Daniel nodded. “I guess . . . I didn’t know this until just a little while ago, but apparently Jack saw all of this first . . . he said he saw the first two times.” Daniel swallowed. “I don’t know how, but he . . . Calder was a Grade A prick.”

“I’ll have to go along with you on that one,” Hammond said, and Daniel noticed Sgt. Kramer nodding behind the camera.

“So, he laughed at me, more or less, and told me that he knew what I was thinking, and that he wasn’t a fool. Then he asked me who owned me. I said I did. He hit me, and asked again. I told him that he already had a piece of paper that told him who owned me, so why was he asking.” Daniel grimaced at the expression on Hammond’s face. “I’m not very good at . . . that kind of thing just sets my back up and makes me more stubborn. He told me I couldn’t have clothes until I acknowledged his ownership.”

“Did you?”

Daniel shook his head. “No. He . . . then he asked me . . . he asked if . . .” This was being harder than anything else to say, and Daniel wanted to throw something. “He asked me if Jack takes me from in front or from behind. I told him again that we don’t have that kind of relationship, but that just pissed him off. He hit me again and told me that he was going to . . .” Daniel felt his throat constrict, “. . . take me in as many ways as possible.” He paused. “Are you sure you want the details?” he asked.

“Please, Dr. Jackson,” Hammond said. He looked up and gestured to Kramer to stop the camera, then he got up and sat in the chair next to Daniel’s. “The more we can nail on the bastard, the less our government is going to be able to ignore it and try to push the deal through anyway,” he murmured softly. “I’m sorry to do this to you, but you’re the only one who can do this.”

Daniel grasped that instantly and, much as he hated it, resolved to follow through. “Can I please have a box of tissue and a glass of water?”

“Of course, son,” Hammond said, gesturing to Kramer to take care of it. “And may I say that I am very proud of you?”

“I thought you were unhappy with me for trying to sacrifice myself for the others.”

“It wasn’t the wisest choice, but it isn’t exactly a cause for shame,” Hammond said. “I’m proud of the way you’re holding up under this. It can’t be easy.”

Daniel shrugged, but he was pleased by the accolade. Kramer came with the tissue and a pitcher of water. He poured Daniel a glass, and Daniel drank. He pulled out a couple of sheets of tissue and started wadding them in his hand. Hammond nodded to Kramer, who started the camera up again. Daniel closed his eyes and looked down. “He started touching me, then he straddled me.” Daniel lifted his eyes to the to the camera. He could do this. He wasn’t going to let this be ignored.

* * *

Jack lay back in his bed, trying to pretend to himself that his shoulder didn’t hurt. He didn’t want any more damned pain meds. He disliked what they did to his brain. Struggling against the pain also didn’t leave room for much other thought, which was a mercy at the moment. He still didn’t have a roommate, which was also a mercy. He couldn’t have coped with someone else in the room, though he desperately wanted Daniel to come back. He couldn’t bear the thought that Daniel was going through that debriefing without him.

The door opened and Carter came in. She shut it behind her and walked over to the end of the bed. “How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Okay,” he said. “Worried about Daniel.”

Carter nodded and pursed her lips. “I was looking for him, and Dr. Warner said Janet had examined him, so I went and asked her, and she said he was debriefing with the general.”

“He is,” Jack said, suddenly realizing that neither Carter nor Teal'c had any idea about what Calder had done to Daniel. There hadn’t been any opportunity to tell them.

“So I asked her why,” Carter said. “It seemed a little weird. Usually he debriefs us all together, usually there’s a little more time involved, I don’t know. It just seemed odd.” Jack nodded, wondering exactly where she was going with this. “So I asked her what was up, and she said it was confidential, but that you might be able to tell me.”

Jack opened his mouth, and then closed it again. “It’s kind of complicated.”

Carter raised her eyebrows. “Do I need to get Teal'c in here for this?” she asked. “When things regarding Daniel get complicated, it’s usually easier to just tell them once.”

Jack nodded. “It would probably be better. I doubt Daniel wants to talk about this himself.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “What is it? Is he leaving? What –”

“No,” Jack said. “Not so far as I know, at any rate.” He felt a tendril of alarm thread through his gut. “Go get Teal'c.”

“Sure.” She looked at him uneasily, then left. Jack pushed himself further up the bed and contemplated the very real possibility that Daniel might decide to leave the program. Something like this could do that to him. Jack couldn’t let that happen. It was his fault that that Calder had fixated on Daniel. Jack had pissed the bastard off by confronting him, and he’d put them all in a vulnerable position by not reporting in first. Then, to get back at Jack, Calder had chosen Daniel because he’d recognized Jack’s feelings for him. Jack . . . Jack had acted irresponsibly. There was a reason for not letting people who had feelings for one another work together in these kinds of situations.

Carter and Teal'c arrived, and Jack wrenched his mind back to the present. Carter shut the door again and she sat down. Teal'c stood stolidly at the foot of the bed. “What is the situation, O'Neill?” he asked solemnly.

Jack stared at the two of them. This wasn’t going to be easy. “You know Calder didn’t send Daniel down to the plant right away,” he said. Sam nodded, and Teal'c’s brows drew together. “And Carter, you saw him when he got down there. The way he was –”

Sam’s eyes widened. “The bruises,” she said. Rage distorted her features. “The bite marks?” Jack nodded.

“Bruises?” Teal'c repeated. “Bite marks?”

“Calder kept him as a toy,” Jack said. “A sex toy.”

Teal'c let out a growl. “Do you mean to say he sexually assaulted DanielJackson?”

“I mean to say,” Jack said, nodding.

“Where is he?” Carter demanded, her voice harsh.

“With the general,” Jack said. “You already knew that.”

“Not Daniel, that bastard Calder!” she replied. “I’ll kill him.”

“Carter –”

“Where is he?”

“Locked up somewhere,” Jack said. “I don’t know.”

“I’ll find him,” Carter said. She turned and stalked out of the room.

“Carter, wait!” Jack looked at Teal'c. “Go after her. Stop her!”

Teal'c nodded and hurried out. Jack clenched his fists. Great, he’d obviously handled that well.

* * *

The door to the briefing room swung open suddenly and Daniel turned to find Sam swooping down on him. “Daniel!” she exclaimed, and pulled him into a close hug. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t think. I –”

“Sam,” Daniel said. “It’s . . . it’s okay. Don’t . . . are you crying?”

“Major Carter . . .” Hammond started, but she didn’t even seem to notice him.

“Daniel, I didn’t . . . are you okay?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer, just kept babbling apologies. Behind her, Teal'c came into the room. He looked pretty grim.

“Do I take it Jack told you?” he asked when Sam paused for breath.

Daniel got Sam to sit down in the chair next to him, holding his hand. She was weeping, her nose red and swollen. “I should have realized, I should have seen it when you came down to the plant. I mean, I did, I saw it, but I didn’t . . . I should have put the pieces together . . . and I was unkind to you. I didn’t know. I didn’t –”

“Hold up, Sam,” Daniel said. “You were never unkind. Not once.”

“I wasn’t kind. I let Jonah knock you down. I didn’t try to stop him.”

“Sam, it’s okay,” Daniel said. He looked up at Teal'c, but from the set expression his face, Daniel could tell that he was wrapped up in his own reactions.

“I’ll kill him,” Sam said. “If you want me to. Do you want me to? I can kill him.”

Daniel shook his head. “Sam, we’re on video tape here,” he said gesturing at Kramer. Sam didn’t notice, but Kramer shrugged.

“I turned it off a couple of minutes ago,” he said, glancing at Hammond, who nodded. “Frankly, I’m with her. You want him, dead, I’ll take care of it.”

“Sergeant!” Hammond growled. “Did you say something?”

Kramer colored. “No sir. Nothing. I never say anything. I’ll just sit here not saying anything.” The silence dragged for a second or two, then Kramer said, “Sir.”

Sam didn’t seem to have noticed the interplay. Daniel kept trying to comfort her, but it was getting him nowhere.

* * *

Hammond watched in dismay as Major Carter babbled out her guilt and distress over what had happened to Dr. Jackson on Dr. Jackson’s shoulder. The archeologist was bearing up well under the stress of his experiences, but Hammond didn’t feel that he needed Major Carter’s reaction to it dumped on him as well, though to be truthful, he seemed to be taking it in stride. Truthfully, all that probably meant was that he’d repressed his own reactions in order to take care of his teammate, and that wasn’t healthy.

Teal'c had come in with her, and Hammond turned the Jaffa. Perhaps Teal'c could be persuaded to take Major Carter somewhere else to vent her emotions where they wouldn’t be forced on the man who least needed to hear them. The words died on his lips, however, when he saw the mood Teal'c was in. Hammond stared at the Jaffa. He hadn’t seen Teal'c in this murderous a rage since Cronos had come for the summit with the Asgard.

He stood up. “Teal'c?” he said. The Jaffa turned to look at him. “Could you please help Dr. Jackson get Major Carter to a more comfortable and more private space?”

“Indeed, General Hammond.” Dr. Jackson gave him a grateful smile as they got themselves to their feet. When Teal'c helped her up, Major Carter seemed to realize where she was and pulled herself together. She didn’t look at Hammond as she went out with her teammates, her arm around Daniel’s waist, his arm around hers. “Kramer, wrap things up here for the moment,” he said once the three were gone. “And don’t talk about anything you saw here, neither Dr. Jackson’s testimony, nor Major Carter’s . . . outbursts.”

“Of course not, general,” Kramer said, and Hammond knew he could count on the man’s silence, if for no other reason than that he was the only other witness.

Leaving Kramer to deal with his job, Hammond headed back to the infirmary, to Colonel O'Neill’s room.

O'Neill was sitting up in bed looking irritable and worried at once. Hammond walked over and sat down. “How are you feeling, colonel?”

“How’s Daniel?” O'Neill asked instantly. “Where’s Daniel?”

“He’s with Major Carter, comforting her.”

O'Neill stared at him for a moment. “Comforting her? Then she . . . she didn’t pay a visit to Calder in his cell?”

“Did she . . .” Hammond shook his head. “I don’t know.” He stood up again. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He went to the nearest phone and made a quick call to check on their unwilling guest. When he was reassured that Calder was still healthy and alone in his cell, he returned to O'Neill. “Calder has had no visitors,” he said. “I had to leave off in the middle of Dr. Jackson’s debriefing because Major Carter came in, so I thought I’d come see how you were coping.”

O'Neill looked at him for several seconds, then looked away. “I’m fine.”

“You are?”

“I am,” O'Neill said. “I may have to resign my commission, but I feel fine.”

“What?” Hammond exclaimed before he managed to force a lid on his reaction. “Colonel, I do not need this from you right now. Dr. Jackson truly doesn’t need it.”

“You don’t understand, sir, it’s my fault,” O'Neill said earnestly. “This –”

“Unless you raped Dr. Jackson yourself, I’m not interested.” O'Neill flinched back at both his words and his tone. “We can discuss how this situation is your fault later, after things have stabilized a bit, and you’ve been home for a time. At the moment, you’re on medical leave, so questions of your fitness for your position can safely be left for another time, and they will be. Do you understand me?”

O'Neill sat a little straighter. “Yes sir.”

“For the moment, Dr. Jackson seems to be holding up remarkably well, but I don’t know how long that will last. He will need you not to be falling apart if and when he does. Do you need outside help to make that possible?”

“Sir . . .” O'Neill trailed off as Hammond raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to take my testimony?”

“I want you to tell me what happened in a general sense, and then I may ask you to speak to a therapist.”

“I am not talking about this with McKenzie,” O'Neill said.

Hammond rolled his eyes and shook his head. All four of the members of SG-1 had had serious problems dealing with Dr. McKenzie since the good doctor had mistakenly diagnosed Dr. Jackson with schizophrenia. “No, colonel, I am not so foolish as to expect you to see Dr. McKenzie. I have someone else in mind, someone with considerably more therapeutic experience than he has. McKenzie does more in the way of research than direct therapy.”

O'Neill started fiddling with the covers on his bed. He looked exceptionally uneasy. “That could be okay,” he said, twisting the white sheet in his hands. “But . . . it’s . . . there are things I can’t talk about with a military shrink.”

“She’s not a military shrink,” Hammond said with a smile. “Her name is Dr. Lisle and anything you speak with her about will be off the official military record.”

“I’d be . . .” O'Neill shook his head. “Okay, I wouldn’t be happy to, but I would be willing to.” He grimaced. “For Daniel’s sake.”

“Good,” Hammond said. “Also for Daniel’s sake, I want you to tell me, at least in general, what you saw.” It was such a simple request, yet clearly so wrenching, he could see it in O'Neill’s eyes. As the colonel remained silent for several seconds, Hammond cleared his throat. “I will need a more complete account, on tape, later, but right now I want just a general description.”

O'Neill nodded. “Okay, I think I can do that.” He took a deep breath. “I . . . after he held me incommunicado for most of a day, he had me brought into some kind of interview room where he told me what our punishments were going to be, only he didn’t just tell me.” O'Neill paused, clearly struggling to maintain control over his emotions. “He had some kind of video machine. I saw Carter waking up after her stamp, completely confused, totally vulnerable to whatever conditioning they chose to give her.” Hammond intensely disliked the image of any of his people in that condition, and he knew now that all four of SG-1 had been. “It’s a good thing that Brenna is basically a decent person, because she could have done anything to any of the people they put in her control.”

“I see,” Hammond said. He’d wondered about that woman. Both Carter and Teal'c had told him that she’d helped them to escape, but he’d still wondered. “That’s good to know. Please, go on.”

“So, I saw that, and then he . . . he switched channels I guess is what you’d say, and I saw men dragging a drugged Daniel into a bedroom and chaining him to a bed.” O'Neill’s voice broke, and he stopped for several seconds. Hammond had already listened to Daniel’s description of this event, but it was made new again, watching O'Neill remember it. “He told me that we, Carter, Teal'c and I were the property of the city, but that Daniel was to be his personal servant. Mind you, at this point I was tied down or Calder’s head would have been splattered against a wall.”

“I’ll bet,” Hammond said.

“So, he left me alone with the video feed on and went and . . . and he raped Daniel. Twice. In between times, he left him alone, tied to the bed, hand and foot, his neck strapped down and his body . . . in an extremely uncomfortable position.” O'Neill shuddered. “After he turned off the feed, I don’t know what happened to Daniel. I . . . I broke the chair I was in and got as free as I could, which means my hands were tied in front of me instead of behind.”

Hammond knew what physical efforts that had likely taken. “How badly did you hurt yourself?”

“Not too badly,” O'Neill said. “My left shoulder may dislocate more easily now, but I don’t think it will be a big problem.”

“Good.”

“I tried to kill Calder when he came back in, but I missed. I think I killed a guard, though.”

“And then what happened?”

“And then they took me and made me forget everything.” O'Neill thumped his head back against the wall. “I tried, sir. I tried hard to remember Daniel, but they took everything.”

“There was nothing you could have done,” Hammond said, and then he saw the tears that were trickling down O'Neill’s face.

“I should have been able to remember him. I should have recognized him when he came down to the plant. I . . .” O'Neill shook his head. “I don’t know what was wrong with me.”

“O'Neill, none of you remembered each other,” Hammond said firmly. “That’s –”

“Not true. I remembered Carter.” Hammond stared at him. “I remembered her the minute I woke up. It makes no sense.” He rubbed his eyes and glared at his feet. “I should have remembered Daniel. I should at least have known he was missing, but . . .”

“O'Neill, you were manipulated by alien technology,” Hammond said when it became clear that O'Neill wasn’t going to say anything else.

“General, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Fraiser said, walking in. “My patient needs his rest.”

He turned to her and pursed his lips, then nodded. “Jack,” he said, turning back to his second in command. “We’ll talk more tomorrow, but please, don’t beat yourself up about it so much.” He left knowing that O'Neill was unlikely to be unable to follow that advice. “It’s not your fault.”

O'Neill gave him a sketchy salute and Hammond returned it. SG-1 was going to be a long time in recovering from this mission, he could see that.

There was a little man in a little room in the brig who had caused all their grief and insecurity, and George Hammond intended to do his best to see that he paid for it.


	25. Chapter 25

Daniel watched as Sam finally fell asleep on Teal'c’s bed. There weren’t a whole lot of places to stay on base tonight, not with two hundred or so workers inundating them. Teal'c sat across the room, radiating anger.

Daniel got up and limped over to where Teal'c was sitting on the floor and slid down the wall to sit next to him. “So, what did Jack tell you, exactly?”

“That Administrator Calder used you as a toy.”

Daniel felt as if he’d been punched in the stomach. Hard. Twice. He breathed for a couple of moments, trying to absorb the notion that Jack had actually said that. Out loud. Eyes wide, he blinked at the wall across the room from where he was sitting. “He said that, did he?”

“He did,” Teal'c said.

“Did he say anything else?”

“He did not,” Teal'c said.

Daniel didn’t know what to make of it. He knew Jack wouldn’t have said a thing like that lightly, but why had he used that term? Was he trying to get the facts across concisely? It was certainly concise. Clear even. Appallingly apt. Daniel could feel his hands shaking slightly, and his gut began to twist unhappily.

“He was most disgusted,” Teal'c said.

Daniel closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. “I’m sure he was,” he said dispiritedly.

Teal'c was silent for a moment. Then he abruptly shifted, putting his hands on either side of Daniel’s face. Daniel’s eyes flipped open. “Not with you,” Teal'c said firmly, gazing into Daniel’s eyes.

“I . . . I . . .” Daniel looked down, and Teal'c released his grip. “He saw it, Teal'c. Calder forced him to watch the first . . . he saw . . .”

“He was most angry,” Teal'c replied. “As anyone would be were they forced to watch a friend being tortured.”

“Teal'c, I . . .” Tears started to flow down Daniel’s cheeks.

“He cares for you, DanielJackson. This has not changed that.” Daniel nodded mutely and Teal'c sighed. “It is time for you to get some rest, DanielJackson. It has been a very long day.”

“It has, but I can’t sleep up there,” he said, as Teal'c pulled him to his feet towards the bed. “Sam’s there.”

“There is nothing amiss, DanielJackson, I will be present. No one will cast aspersions on either of you.”

Daniel gave up fighting it and collapsed onto the bed next to Sam. He felt Teal'c covering him up and then he fell asleep.

* * *

When Daniel woke, Sam was sitting in a chair next to the bed, her back to him, working on something. Teal'c was nowhere to be seen. Daniel sat up. “What’s up?” he asked.

Sam turned, eyes bright with forced cheer. “We didn’t want you to wake up alone, so I stayed with you. Teal’c’s giving testimony.”

“Right,” Daniel said. “So, what are you working on?”

“Actually, do you remember that experiment I set in motion right before we left?”

Daniel blinked. “Something about magnets and some kind of field generator?” he asked hesitantly.

Sam rolled her eyes. “Something like that,” she said. “Well, Siler kept it going for me. I’m going over the results.”

“That’s great,” Daniel said. “I’m . . . I’m going to get dressed and go see how Jack is.”

“I’ve seen him this morning. He was fine.”

“Good.” Daniel got up and went into Teal'c’s private bathroom to get cleaned up. It was great to be home. It was great to have a shower when he felt like it, not wait until his section’s day and then crowd into lukewarm water with four other sections and scrub quickly so no one saw his bruises.

He pulled on fresh fatigues when he got out of the shower and walked out into Teal'c’s room. “Sam, are you okay?” he asked.

She looked up from her work. “Sure,” she lied. “I’m great.”

“Nothing that happened was your fault, Sam,” he said. “And you weren’t unkind to me. You were great.”

Her face creased unhappily. “It’s so weird, thinking back on it. I didn’t know you. I didn’t even wonder if I knew you. It wasn’t until you two started fighting and Teal'c started shouting that I had any notion that anything was wrong.”

“I wasn’t much better off than you,” Daniel said. “I knew something bad had happened to me, but Brenna had me convinced.” He swallowed. “I think . . . I’m afraid I wanted to forget.”

“What are you talking about, Daniel?” she asked. “You’re the one that convinced the colonel and me that there was something wrong. Without you and Teal'c, Thera and Jonah would still be there, fixing boilers and pump engines.”

“That’s different,” Daniel said. “That was after . . .” He rubbed his face, trying to forestall the tears that were looming. “I didn’t want to remember anything initially, while those marks were still all over me.”

Sam stood up and gave him a hug. “We’re safe now, and that’s the most important thing, right? We’re all safe.”

Daniel nodded and squeezed her tightly. After a couple of minutes, he drew back and looked down at her with a smile. “And now I need to go find Jack.”

“I know he’ll be glad to see you,” she said.

Daniel went out into the halls, just glad to be back on base. He nodded to his colleagues and friends, and headed down to the infirmary. Jack was still in the same room, and he looked extremely irritable. “Good morning,” Daniel said.

Jack turned to him and a smile lit his face briefly, followed by a worried frown. “Hey Daniel, you okay?”

“I’ll live,” Daniel said lightly. “How’s the shoulder?”

“It hurts. Less since Napoleon forced the morphine on me, but it’s still there.”

“She’s good that way, our little Napoleon,” Daniel said.

“I don’t want morphine, Daniel.”

“Yes, Jack, but you need morphine.” Daniel sat down. “Morphine good.”

“Did you sleep all right?” Jack asked. “I half-expected you to doss in here.”

“I slept okay,” Daniel said. “I stayed in Teal'c’s room with Sam and Teal'c.” He looked down at the bedspread and then up at Jack’s face. “So, if you try to blame yourself for any of what happened, Jack, I will be quite annoyed with you.”

“Daniel, I made a neophyte’s mistake,” Jack said. “I should have contacted Hammond before confronting Calder.”

Daniel shrugged. “Probably,” he said, and Jack slumped. “But mistakes happen. We go on. It’s not a crime.”

Jack shook his head. “You got . . . what happened to you happened because of my mistake, Daniel. I can’t forget that, and consequences matter when a man evaluates his mistakes.”

“Jack!” Daniel growled. “Almost the entire team that went on the first mission to Abydos died because of me, because I didn’t know the symbol that I’d said I did.” Jack’s jaw dropped. “And that wasn’t a mistake, that was a lie.” Jack started to speak but Daniel overrode him. “If you want to compete for who’s got the most guilt, I’m going to win.”

“Daniel, that’s not –”

“Because I dug up the Abydos stargate, Sha’re is dead and Skaara spent two and a half years with Klorel inside him.”

“But if you hadn’t, Earth would be the largest Goa'uld colony, or it might well be a wasteland with its people either dead or carried off as slaves.”

“Jack, you and the general, and any number of other people, highly overrate my talents,” Daniel said. “Regardless, we’re home, we got the workers from the plant out, Calder is locked up, and all is right with the world for the moment. Can we leave it at that for now?”

Jack reached out and caught Daniel’s hand. “Sure, Dannyboy, if that’s what you want.”

Daniel glared at him. “Don’t humor me,” he said. “And could you have found a different way of telling Sam and Teal'c what happened to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Toy?” Daniel said, and Jack flushed.

“I didn’t mean . . . I wouldn’t . . . it’s not what . . .” Jack looked so devastated that Daniel took pity on his obvious distress.

He squeezed Jack’s hand. “I’m not angry or upset, just a little wigged. I think it’s the accuracy of the term that’s got me on edge. I mean, he . . .” Daniel looked down at the hand he held. “He showed me off and loaned me out. I felt like a videotape.”

“What do you mean?” Jack asked, and Daniel could see that he wanted to swallow the words as soon as they were said. “I mean, I know what you . . . but I . . .”

“Jack, don’t,” Daniel said, trying to keep him from the anxious babbling he was starting again. It was so unlike Jack. “I know what you’re asking.” He shrugged. “Calder was proud of his acquisition, so he had a little party. I’d like to call all those people back together and take an uzi to them, but we can’t have everything we want in life, now can we?”

“An uzi?” Jack said, sounding startled.

Daniel took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “If you think my choice of weapon is somehow lacking, I’m open to constructive criticism.” He shuddered. “I just really don’t like Calder’s friends.”

“I can see that,” Jack said. His hand, bereft of Daniel’s, began to pluck at the sheet. “If . . . how many of them . . .”

Daniel’s stomach turned over. “Just one,” he said shortly.

“I feel sick being relieved by that,” Jack said.

“I know what you mean,” Daniel replied, “but it is better than more.” He grimaced. “And more were definitely interested,” he added, remembering all the hands that had touched him, both with and without Calder’s permission, and the eyes that had devoured him from every side. His skin crawled with vivid memory. It had given Calder immense pleasure to be so envied. As annoyed as he’d been by some of his guests taking unlicensed liberties, the bastard had also been pleased to know that he had what others wanted.

“God, Daniel, I’m sorry.”

Daniel shrugged again. “I frankly don’t see the attraction, but –”

“You don’t see the attraction?” Jack said incredulously, and Daniel stopped talking to stare at him. “Daniel, modesty is all well and good, but . . .” He shook his head. “You carry it too far sometimes. We overrate your abilities and you don’t see the attraction.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “No, Jack, I frankly don’t see why that many people would want to have sex with me.”

“I don’t get why that many people would want to rape you,” Jack said a little too bluntly. “Anyone could see why people want to have sex with you. Daniel, you’re gorgeous.”

Daniel abruptly felt like all the air had left the room. “Jack, let’s not go there,” he said weakly.

“Daniel!” Jack said, sounding exasperated, but he clearly wasn’t getting the level of panic Daniel was feeling. “You –”

“Jack!” He shot the word out like a bullet and Jack sat up straight. “I can’t . . . I know you . . . it’s not that I . . . I just can’t. Okay?” Jack nodded, eyes wide with consternation, and Daniel took several deep breaths. When he felt like he could really breathe again, he got up. “How about I get a chessboard? We can play a game or two before the general needs me to come back.”

“Sure, Daniel,” Jack said, and his eyes held an apology that Daniel acknowledged silently. He left hastily and found a chessboard. The errand gave him time to get his emotions under control, and evidently it had the same effect for Jack, because he seemed his usual jolly self when Daniel got back. They settled down to play and talked about anything but the mission to P3R-118 until Hammond came and took Daniel away to finish his debriefing.

It was a lengthy, emotionally draining process that left Daniel shaken and nauseated. Even describing the days of unending work in the plant hadn’t distanced him enough to calm him, because the telling was so short. Work, sleep, plan, escape. Not much to it. He went back to find Jack sleeping and hadn’t the heart to wake him, and he wasn’t ready to sleep himself.

A burning desire awakened in him to go home. It was only about five in the afternoon, he could come back in plenty of time to spend some of the evening with Jack, and he could stop by Jack’s place and fetch him some pajamas, and maybe some DVDs they could watch on a laptop.

He headed up to the surface and found his car. The drive home was liberating. He rolled the windows down and let the wind blow through the car. It felt wonderful. He passed a Barnes and Noble and got a sudden idea. He made a quick u-turn and picked a few things up. Then he stopped by Jack’s place and grabbed a selection of movies. Dumping the stuff into his trunk, he moved on quickly. He knew Jack would worry if he woke up before Daniel got back.

He pulled into his parking spot at his building with a sense of relief and homecoming. He got out and climbed the stairs up to his door. He unlocked the door and walked inside. Inside his own walls at last, or at least walls that he rented.

He fed the fish, and gathered some clothes and books together. He anticipated that Janet wasn’t going to release Jack anytime soon, and when she did, Jack was going to need help at home. The lack of a working arm might make things a bit difficult for him. He cleared out the fridge, but as he was pulling the trash bag out of the can he heard the door open. An idiotic panic suffused him, and he froze, dropping the bag. Footsteps came through the front hall and into the kitchen.

“Daniel! You’re back!” Daniel stared in astonishment as Jim launched himself at him. The bear hug took him completely by surprise, and did nothing for his freezing panic. “That General Hammond said you were missing.” Jim took Daniel by the shoulders and drew back to look at him carefully. “You look awful.”

Daniel couldn’t speak for several seconds, then he managed to take a step back, disengaging. “I feel pretty awful,” he said, taking a deep breath.

Jim’s eyebrows drew together with concern. “Daniel, are you okay?” he asked.

“I think we established that I’m not,” Daniel said, and Jim stared at him, looking confused. He shook his head and took another deep breath. “I didn’t . . . I had kind of a bad time, Jim. I can’t tell you much, but I’m not dealing too well with any kind of sudden grabbing and holding.”

Jim’s eyes widened. “God, Daniel, I’m sorry. I was just so glad to see you.”

“I know,” Daniel said, nodding earnestly. “It’s nothing you could have predicted. I’m just . . . edgy, I guess.”

“I take it you weren’t just lost, then,” Jim asked. “Someone kidnapped you?”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah,” he said.

“Did anyone get hurt?” Jim nodded at the bandage on Daniel’s forehead. “Did you get hurt?”

“Let’s not talk about it,” Daniel said, crossing his arms and trying not to remember how he’d been hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Jim said. He took a step towards Daniel, reaching towards his shoulder, as if to put an arm around him and guide him to a seat. Daniel, without consideration or even thought, took a step back from him and Jim’s face fell.

Daniel blinked. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean . . .” He looked down. “I was . . . someone attacked me, and I’m feeling very . . . sensitive about my space.”

Jim dropped his hand to his side and smiled tentatively. “I didn’t mean to . . .” He put his hands behind his back. “How about you hug me? Then you can let go.”

Jim’s gentle consideration brought Daniel’s emotions very near the surface. Tears filled his eyes, and he walked over and gave Jim a tight hug that lasted several minutes. After a little while, Jim gingerly put his own arms around Daniel, rubbing his back but not really holding, per se. The tears began to pour forth beyond Daniel’s control.

He drew back, keeping his head down. “Thanks, Jim. That was . . . that was . . .”

“You’re crying,” Jim said unnecessarily.

“I . . .” Daniel turned around and walked into the living room where he sat down on the sofa and tried to control his emotions.

Jim came in and sat down tentatively beside him. “You want to talk about it?”

“I’ve spent hours talking about it, debriefing . . . it hasn’t really helped.”

“That’s not talking about it, Daniel,” Jim said, and Daniel looked at him incredulously. “I mean, it is talking about it, but it’s not the kind of talking I’m . . . um . . . talking about.”

“You sound like Jack,” Daniel said.

“Jack? That friend of yours, the military guy?” Daniel nodded. “Isn’t he kind of a hard ass?”

“Sometimes, but . . .” Daniel shook his head. “He . . . he was with me . . . he’s a good guy.”

“So, did he get hurt?” Jim asked.

“He was shot,” Daniel said. When Jim’s eyes widened with alarm Daniel hastened to add, “Not too seriously, though it was terrifying at the time. All that blood, and I couldn’t tell where it hit, just that it was the upper torso.”

“I can imagine,” Jim said. “But he’ll recover?”

Daniel nodded. “And neither of our other colleagues got seriously hurt. Jack’s was the worst injury.” There was a silence between them for a moment. Tears continued to run silently down Daniel’s cheeks, and he thought he might have a better chance of controlling himself if he got a moment alone. “So, can I get you anything to drink?” he asked.

Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. “I think you need to talk, Daniel, and I’m betting you don’t have a lot of people at work you can talk to.”

Daniel sniffed and shook his head. “Ordinarily I’d talk to Jack, but –” His words broke off in a sob at the thought of how Jack would react to Daniel’s being frank about his feelings right now. It would kill him.

“Is he not understanding?” Jim asked, clearly ready to be angry on Daniel’s behalf.

Daniel shook his head. “No . . . it’s not that,” he choked out, but he wasn’t able to get out any more words as his shoulders shook, his emotions strangling him. Jim pulled him close, very gently, and Daniel let himself sob on his shoulder.

As the tears ebbed, Jim squeezed him carefully, comfortingly. “When you say attacked, what do you mean?”

“I mean sexually,” Daniel said, and Jim cursed. “And it wasn’t an ‘impersonal, anyone would do’ thing.” A shudder coursed through him, and Jim released the embrace so Daniel could pull away.

“And your friends, were they assaulted, too?” Jim asked.

Daniel shook his head. “No, it was . . . personal.” A sudden realization hit him, leaving him breathless. Calder had been angry at Jack, but his interest, physically and emotionally, had been in Daniel. That was evident from a number of factors, not least of which was that he continued assaulting Daniel even after Jack was unable to be hurt by it. He hadn’t lost the slightest bit of pleasure in tormenting Daniel once Jack had been sent below. He’d been furious about having to give Daniel up when his council had demanded it. More shudders ran through Daniel’s body as he remembered that ferocious last kiss Calder had forced on him, the intensity of Calder’s voice when he swore he’d get Daniel back. What if . . . the idea was almost too terrible to contemplate . . .

“Daniel, what is it?” Jim asked, sounding very alarmed. “Daniel?”

Daniel couldn’t respond, though. He couldn’t spare any thought from the horrifying realization that was sweeping through him. Calder’s reaction had been overblown. Daniel had thought so at the time. He had no doubt that Calder had been deeply offended by Jack’s gall in judging them; however, Daniel might have expected him to either rudely eject them or send them all down to the plant.

Had he seized them all because he’d wanted Daniel? It wouldn’t be the first time someone had enslaved his teammates to control him, and come to think of it, Shyla had wanted him sexually, too. He heard Jim’s voice, but he didn’t seem to be talking to Daniel.

He drew his knees up to his chest, holding them close. Jack certainly seemed to think he was the hottest thing since sliced bread, and Jim had the hots for him. Hathor hadn’t been shy about how much she wanted him, and there had been a few other incidents as well. Daniel had never taken a survey, but he was beginning to wonder if he was the only one fortune had so favored. He didn’t recall other teams having quite so many sexual adventures, certainly not so many negative ones.

Okay, other members of the team had had unfortunate sexual encounters. Kynthia for Jack, those Mongols had kidnapped Sam . . . Teal'c seemed to have escaped unscathed. Still, Kynthia had been sweet, and only acted within her culture, and Sam had dealt with the Mongols pretty effectively. None of them had nearly had a sexual relationship with the destroyer of worlds, either. Daniel thumped his head down on his knees.

And none of his reaction was made any easier by the fact that he knew Calder was on this planet, back at the base. Most of the time, any attackers, any scary people, were left behind, light years away, or they were dead. Either way, they weren’t worrisome.

“Daniel?” Jim said, putting his hand on the center of Daniel’s back.

Daniel jerked away and stared up at him. “Why do people want me, Jim? What is it about me that makes people . . .” He shuddered violently. “I don’t understand.” Tears began to fall again. “I don’t understand.” Jim sat down beside him and held him close, rocking him while he wept.

* * *

General Hammond walked into Major Carter’s lab and cleared his throat. She looked up and her eyes widened. “General?”

“I’ve received a call . . .” He pursed his lips, and she knit her brows in puzzlement. “It was from a friend of Dr. Jackson’s.”

“Daniel’s?” Carter asked, putting down the equipment she was working with. “Is something wrong, sir?”

“Apparently Dr. Jackson is having something of a breakdown.” He grimaced worriedly. “I think we should probably bring him back here.”

She stood up and turned off her machines. “Let’s go.”

Within minutes they were on the road to Dr. Jackson’s apartment. Hammond was worried. The young man had seemed calm and collected when he’d left the debriefing, or he’d never have allowed him to leave the base. What had happened while he was out to cause him to fall apart?

Hammond had met this Jim Oberon once before, when he stopped by to check on Dr. Jackson’s apartment while the team was still missing. He’d checked on all their homes as he always did when people went missing. Mr. Oberon had been feeding Dr. Jackson’s fish and wondering when his friend was coming home since the few days he’d been asked to do that task for had turned into two weeks. Hammond had told him that Dr. Jackson was missing, and that it would be good if he’d continue looking after the fish.

They parked next to Jackson’s car and went upstairs. Carter knocked and the door was answered by a very sober Jim Oberon. “He’s in here,” he said, leading the way to the living room where Dr. Jackson sat hunched in the corner of the sofa, his knees pulled tightly up to his chest, hugging them.

He looked up, eyes wide and vulnerable. “General, hi. Sorry.”

Carter rushed past and put her arms around him. “Daniel, don’t be sorry. It’s okay.”

Hammond turned to Oberon. “What happened?”

“I asked him if he needed to talk, and we . . . we were talking, he was . . .” Oberon grimaced. “He was crying, and then he just . . . froze up.”

“Did you say something that caused it?”

Far from being offended by the suggestion, Oberon drew his brows together, eyes distant for a moment, then shook his head. “No, I honestly don’t think so. I . . . he told me . . .” Oberon pulled Hammond further away from where Carter was trying to comfort Dr. Jackson. “He told me he’d been raped, and that it was not a random act.” Oberon blinked thoughtfully. “The last thing he said before he froze was that it was personal. I’d asked if his colleagues had also been assaulted, and he said no, that it was personal. Then he went silent for a really long time, and when he spoke again, it was to ask why people wanted him.” Oberon bit his lip, then took a deep breath. “Has this happened to him before?”

“It’s really not my place to say –”

“I’m his friend,” Oberon said. “I want to help him.”

Hammond pursed his lips and chose his words carefully. “He has had . . . unpleasant experiences in the past.” That was as far as he felt able to commit himself.

“I see.” Oberon looked frustrated and worried. “How is his friend Jack? He seems very worried about him.”

“Colonel O'Neill is in good shape physically, but he’s suffering in his own way from the events of the past month. They all are.” Oberon nodded his thanks for the information, and Hammond drifted closer to Dr. Jackson.

Under Major Carter’s urging, his posture had opened up some. “So, did you have things you wanted to bring back to the base with you?”

Dr. Jackson nodded and stood up, heading into the bedroom. Carter was following him until Oberon said. “Isn’t he due a few days off after something like this?”

Carter turned back, looking surprised. She would have spoken, but Hammond gestured for her to follow Jackson. “What is your concern?” he asked Oberon.

“I don’t know, exactly,” Oberon said uneasily. “Is he going to some kind of medical facility?”

“Not precisely,” Hammond said. “But –”

“Well, he as good as said that he had no one to really talk to there,” Oberon said, interrupting him. “And I’d like to be there for him, but I got the impression that the base is a heavily restricted facility.”

“It is,” Hammond replied, looking curiously at Mr. Oberon. “Do I take it you're seeking visiting privileges?”

Oberon nodded. “Yes sir.”

“And you think you can provide him with support that he can’t get from my people?”

Oberon colored slightly at the hint of condescension Hammond had allowed to creep into his voice. “I do,” he said. “Daniel needs someone to talk to.”

“Are you two really that close?” Hammond asked. “I only ask because Dr. Jackson has never mentioned you.”

“Why would he have to?” Oberon demanded angrily. “What are you, his father?”

Hammond controlled his irritation. “I’m not that fortunate.”

“He’s a very private man,” Oberon said, recovering his civility.

“So he is,” Hammond replied. “But it’s not as if he’s being held incommunicado, and he has –” The phone rang suddenly but before Hammond could do more than take a step toward it, it stopped, and they could both hear Daniel’s voice from the bedroom as he answered.

“Work is not the place to recover from trauma,” Oberon said.

“He was only here to pick some things up,” Hammond replied. “His closest friend has yet to be released from the infirmary. If I know Dr. Jackson –”

“How well can you possibly know him?” Oberon asked. “You never even use his first name!”

“Mr. Oberon!” Hammond snapped. “That is enough. Daniel Jackson is –”

Dr. Jackson walked into the living room abruptly, and they both fell silent. He seemed astonishingly calm. “No, really,” he said, and then paused while whoever was on the other end spoke. “I’m fine, Jack. Don’t overreact!” Carter emerged from the bedroom looking alarmed. “Jack, I grabbed your PJs, a couple of DVDs, and I bought some stuff for Kegan and the others. Okay? I also wanted a couple of books, and I figured I was going to be going to your house after Napoleon releases you.”

Carter walked over to Hammond and said, “I’m really not sure this is healthy, sir.” Hammond raised his eyebrows. “The colonel called, and suddenly Daniel was okay. He’s not usually like this. Usually, the colonel is the only one who can get him to open up.” She glanced aside at Oberon suspiciously.

“What?” Oberon said. “I’m not the villain here.”

“I never said you were,” Carter replied. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m a friend of Daniel’s.”

“Yeah, I got that part, but why are you here? What happened?”

“Major,” Hammond said reprovingly, and she lowered her level of antagonism measurably.

“I really don’t think he needs to be heading back to work under these circumstances.”

“He’s not going to work,” Hammond said. “He’s just going to the base.”

“No, Jack, I don’t think it was precipitous,” Dr. Jackson said, walking past with the phone and fitting a couple of books into a bag. “I didn’t know you knew that word. Four syllables. Most impressive.” He chuckled. “Ooooh, _I’m_ the jerk. Right. Look, I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry. I’m fine, and I’ll be there soon with a couple of violent movies.” He nodded, then rolled his eyes. “Hammond is here, and Sam. And Jim.” That last was added almost as an afterthought, with the slightest tightening of his lips. “Yes, Jim is here . . . He was looking after the fish . . . Jack, don’t be an ass.”

Apparently Dr. Jackson had mentioned Oberon to one of them at least, Hammond thought, glancing at the man in question. Carter was looking somewhat irritated again.

“This really is not healthy,” Oberon said softly. “He was practically catatonic not more than an hour ago, and now he sounds normal.”

“I have to agree with you,” Carter said. She pursed her lips unhappily, watching her friend and teammate.

“Good bye, Jack. I’m hanging up now,” Jackson said. He pulled the phone away from his ear, pressed the button and let out a sigh. Hammond watched in horrified shock as the calm, pleasant expression slid off his face leaving nothing much behind. His face just went blank. ‘Flat affect’ was the term psychologists used. It was very alarming. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and some life came back into his face, but seeing the effort it took to put it there made Hammond’s gut ache for him. He looked down at the bag he’d been packing. “So, I think that’s everything.” He looked up vaguely. “Oh, but I didn’t . . . I need to take the trash out and . . .” He looked down at the phone in his hand as if he wasn’t quite sure why it was there.

Hammond walked across to him and took the phone, passing it to whichever one of them took it, Oberon or Carter, he didn’t look. “We’ll see that the trash is taken care of, son,” he said, putting his hand on the boy’s back. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I think that . . . I think that’s it then,” Jackson said. He closed his eyes for a moment, and Hammond grew worried.

“Son, are you –”

Jackson’s eyes opened and he took a deep breath. “I’m fine,” he said, making the effort again to seem lifelike. “Sorry, I guess maybe I’m just tired.”

“You’re not tired, Daniel,” Carter said. “You’re more than a little freaked, and that’s to be expected under the circumstances.”

Jackson shook his head. “No, Sam, I’m good. I just had a bad moment, it passed, and that’s that.” He looked up at her with a small, disarming grin. “Don’t worry about me, Sam. You know how I am. I’m fine.”

“I know how you are, Daniel,” Carter said, and her tone gave it a different meaning. “You’re not fine, but you’ll keep saying you're fine till you convince someone.”

Jackson’s face twitched, and a tear ran down his cheek. “Sam, please, I have to go see Jack, and I can’t be like this with him. After what he’s been through, I need to be there for him.”

“After what he’s been through?” Oberon asked disbelievingly. “Daniel!”

“I can’t put this off on him,” Jackson said, and more tears were running down his face. “He . . . he already blames himself, and it’s not his fault. You don’t know –”

“All right, now is not the time to talk about this,” Hammond said. “We need to get you back to the base or Jack will try to come after you.” He put a hand on Jackson’s shoulder. “We wouldn’t want him ripping any stitches.” He turned to Carter. “Please help Dr. Jackson get his things to the car.”

“My car,” Jackson said. “I’ve got stuff for Jack in there.” He and Carter picked up the stuff he’d put together and as they left, Hammond turned to Oberon.

“I understand your concerns, and I share them,” he said. “I will contact you tomorrow and we can discuss the situation further.”

“Daniel can’t disregard his own –”

Hammond nodded. “I am aware of that, and I have no intention of allowing him to do so, nor does anyone on his team or on our medical staff.” He took a deep breath, aware that his own anger was getting a little out of control. “I’m sorry if I’ve been rude, but we’re all a little on edge. They only returned yesterday, and I’ve had to take his report on what was done to him.”

Oberon nodded. “I’ve been a little . . . unpleasant myself. Look, I just want to help.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

* * *

Jack hung up his phone and looked at the instrument in silent frustration. He didn’t buy the cheer Daniel was projecting, but he didn’t know for certain what to do about it. The circumstances were too complicated. If only . . . Daniel probably wasn’t and wouldn’t be comfortable with him because of the declaration he’d made in the spring.

For so many years he had helped Daniel to cope with the traumas that had come his way, and Daniel had helped him. Now . . . now he feared that Daniel wouldn’t be able to come to him with this because he would fear the intimacy with a man who had expressed unwanted interest. Now in particular. Rape had to be making him even more uneasy about people who were interested in him sexually. Jim’s presence had to be making him deeply unhappy.

Jack leaned back against the raised head of the bed and sighed. How was he going to help Daniel if Daniel was alarmed by him?

The phone at the bedside rang and he fumbled it to his ear. “Hello?” he said, hoping he was talking to Daniel.

“Colonel, this is General Hammond.”

“Sir?” Jack’s mouth went dry. Had something happened to Daniel? What was wrong?

“Dr. Jackson is returning to the base in his own car with Major Carter,” the general said. “I thought I’d better call you and tell you some of what happened here this evening.”

“Is Daniel all right?”

“No,” Hammond said, “I would say he is most definitely not all right, but he’s holding himself together.” Jack felt his heart contract. This was his fault. He was both the direct and the indirect cause of what Calder did to Daniel. Hammond spoke again, redirecting his attention. “And that’s my concern. He’s worried that you won’t be able to handle his distress because of your own trauma, and frankly, I’m not altogether sure he’s wrong.”

“He said that?” Jack asked, appalled by the notion.

“Just about that clearly,” Hammond replied. “He had a breakdown here, in his apartment. Very fortunately for us, his friend Jim was here and called me.”

“Jim? Are you sure he didn’t cause the breakdown?”

“Not altogether certain, but if he did, I doubt it was intentional. He seems to care a great deal for Dr. Jackson.”

“Yes, I know,” Jack said sourly.

“Have you met him?” Hammond asked.

“No, but Daniel has talked about him to me.”

“And you don’t like what you’ve heard?” Hammond sounded genuinely concerned, and Jack realized that he sounded hostile.

He grit his teeth. “It’s not that,” he said. “I’m just on edge.”

He could almost see Hammond nodding. “I can understand that,” he said sympathetically. “In any case, for this evening I think it might be better if you go along with Dr. Jackson’s pretense of normalcy until we have an opportunity to consult Dr. Lisle.”

“Sir, maybe you should know . . . Jim . . . Daniel told me that he was interested in a relationship.”

“Dr. Jackson is interested in a relationship?” Hammond asked, sounding startled.

“No.” Jack grimaced. “No, Jim wants a relationship with Daniel, and Daniel doesn’t.”

“But they’re still friends?”

“Yes.”

Hammond was silent for a moment. “That’s important information to know. Thank you, colonel. We’ll be back at the base in an hour. If you’re having any difficulties, please call someone to come sit with you. All right?”

“Sir, I’m fine.”

“I don’t want to hear that,” Hammond said testily. Jack bit his lip. “I’ve heard it enough from Dr. Jackson. I know you’re not fine, and there’s no shame in not being fine.”

Jack took a deep breath. “Of course. You’re right. I’m not fine. But I don’t need someone to sit with me.”

Hammond didn’t respond for a moment, then he said, “I’ll be there in an hour. I’ll see you then.”

“Yes sir.”

Jack hung up the phone and looked across the room at the television, which he hadn’t turned on. Teal'c was off teaching hand to hand, which was good for his aggression levels. Fraiser had two dozen patients who still didn’t fully understand the way they practiced medicine on earth. He didn’t feel like trying to disturb either of them, and the only person he wanted to see was Daniel, who was on his way back.

His mind returned to its persistent worrying over how stupid he’d been not to contact Hammond ahead of confronting Calder, how foolish he had been to disregard the idea that people who didn’t know them might not perceive his feelings towards Daniel. Here, among friends who would never expect such a development, the signs were lost or misapprehended. A total stranger, already seeing Daniel as a potential target for amorous advances, would have an advantage unmatched by those familiar with them and their friendship.

His gut twisted, roiling with acid. What had happened to Daniel was undeniably his fault. He had caused it, by confronting Calder and pissing him off, and by showing his love too obviously. Maybe he should just leave. Resign his commission and go somewhere else, away from where he could distress Daniel by his presence.

“Hey, Jack!” Jack looked up and found Lou Feretti looming over him. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got shot,” Jack said, glaring. “What are you doing here?”

“Can’t a man visit his friends in the infirmary without his motives being question?” Lou asked, and Jack looked at him under lowered brows. “So, fine, Hammond called and told me you were probably stewing yourself to death in here, and I agreed we couldn’t have that. So here I am, and you can’t get rid of me.” Lou sat down. “Besides, I would have come by anyway. I always do.”

“You have work to do,” Jack growled.

“Yup, right here, keeping you company.”

“How do you figure?”

“Hammond called and told me to, and that constitutes an order. I.e., this is my job right now.” Lou grinned. “So, basically, I’m getting paid to sit around and shoot the shit.”

“I’m not in the mood,” Jack said irritably.

“Oh.” Lou nodded understandingly. “So, you don’t really want to hear about Siler’s new girlfriend?”

Jack blinked. “Siler’s got a girlfriend?”

Lou raised an eyebrow. “He does. Officer Meyers.”

“Officer?”

“She’s a policeman.” His eyes went confused. “Policewoman . . . police person.” He shook his head. “Anyway, she’s a cop.”

“And she wants Siler?” Jack asked. “Have you met her? Does she have a first name?”

“I thought you didn’t want –”

“Cut it out,” Jack said. “Just tell me.”

Lou passed on the gossip from the base, all the stuff he’d missed over the weeks they’d been missing. Jack listened and knew that this was better than sitting alone and mulling over his faults. Still, the back of his mind never stopped turning over how much he was to blame for all that had happened.


	26. Chapter 26

When Tony Sciaparelli arrived at Cheyenne Mountain, he found that he was totally unexpected. This was somewhat surprising, because he’d received his orders nearly four weeks previously, and his arrival had only been delayed on the grounds that his leg wasn’t healing as well as his doctor had hoped it would.

“I’m supposed to report to Colonel O'Neill,” Tony said. “He’s expecting me.”

The sergeant on the guard post blinked and said, “Just one moment, sir.” He stepped inside and made a phone call. There was some speaking, then some nodding, then he hung up. “Go right in sir. Park in Lot A and go in the door labeled B1. The sergeant at the desk there will tell you where you need to go.”

“Thank you.” Tony followed his instructions, and when he arrived at the desk, he handed his ID over to the sergeant, who looked up with a sober expression. “Lt. Sciaparelli, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Msgt. Harriman will be along momentarily to take you down to the SGC.”

“Thanks,” Tony said. He stepped away from the desk and looked around a little nervously. This was the top secret command. Or at least this was the entrance to the top secret command. It looked pretty normal. A nondescript hallway with the standard issue uncomfortable chairs, an elevator with a number stenciled on it, a metal desk . . .

The elevator opened and a short, balding man came out. “Lt. Sciaparelli?” he said. Tony nodded and walked over to him and shook his hand. “I’m Sgt. Harriman. Please, come with me.” They stepped into the elevator and Harriman slid a card through a reader before pushing the button for the level. “I don’t know how much you know about our organization –”

“Almost nothing,” Tony said.

Harriman smiled. “Well, I’m not authorized to tell you any details, so don’t bother asking.” Tony raised his eyebrows. He thought the sergeant’s brusqueness was meant humorously, but he didn’t know the man well enough to be sure. “I’m taking you to see General Hammond,” Harriman said.

“But I thought I was supposed to report to Colonel O'Neill,” Tony said.

“Colonel O'Neill is recovering in the infirmary.”

“Recovering?” Tony repeated. Harriman nodded. “From what?”

“A gunshot wound,” Harriman said.

“Really?” Tony said, eyes wide. “How did he come by that?”

“It’s a long story and part of what I’m not authorized to tell you.”

“Right.” Tony pursed his lips. “How’s Dr. Jackson?”

“He’s not recovering from a gunshot wound,” Harriman replied.

Tony stared at the sergeant for a moment. The sergeant gazed back calmly, and he clearly wasn’t making a joke. “That’s informative,” Tony said. The sergeant shrugged, but not in a way that suggested he didn’t care. It seemed more as if he was saying that it was the best he could do. As if recovering from a gunshot wound would be better than whatever condition Dr. Jackson was actually in.

He turned back to face forward feeling more than a little uneasy. The man who’d recruited him and his new boss were both in less than stellar condition from the sound of things. What had happened? Uncle Solly had said this was a dangerous command. The elevator came to a stop.

“This is Level 27,” Harriman said. “The general’s office is here. He’ll explain things to you.” Tony stepped out of the elevator and followed the sergeant through the halls. It was odd, being inside a converted missile silo. People in fatigues went past him, looking curiously at him in his undress blues. Harriman wore the blues, though, so it couldn’t be too odd. Probably just new guy syndrome. And the cane. A man his age seldom walked with a cane that looked like it had been purchased rather than issued by a doctor. He could kill Mike sometimes.

They went through a door into an office where an older man sat behind a desk. When they entered, the man stood up. “General Hammond,” Harriman said, “this is Lt. Tony Sciaparelli.”

Hammond held out his hand. “Lieutenant, I’ve heard a great deal about you, and I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Tony said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Thank you, sergeant,” Hammond said and Harriman left, shutting the door behind him. Tony looked around. One wall of the office was taken up by a window onto a large conference room, and there was some very fine wood furniture, but apart from that it was a concrete box. “Please, sit down. I’ve got a few things to tell you that may be a little startling.”

Tony sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, and the general, to his surprise, took the other one. “Is Colonel O'Neill going to be all right, sir?” he asked.

“He will,” the general said. “His injury is fairly minor, as gunshot wounds go. I take it Harriman explained why the colonel didn’t greet you.”

“Just that he was in the infirmary and why.” Tony grimaced. “I don’t know anything about the mission here, just that Uncle Solly would be here in a minute if he were twenty years younger and that my mother will kill him if she ever finds out he okayed my posting here.”

“Your Uncle Solly?” Hammond repeated, tilting his head curiously.

“Sorry, sir, I don’t like to . . .” Tony flushed uncomfortably. He generally tried to avoid mentioning his uncle too much, so he didn’t look like he was name dropping or seeking unequal treatment. The confusion up on the surface and the discovery that his boss and his boss’s boss were both in less than good health had thrown him off his game, apparently. “Brigadier General Saul Fierros is my mother’s brother, sir. Apparently, General Piedmont consulted him before authorizing my transfer to this post.”

Hammond’s eyebrows raised. “I take it you don’t want your uncle’s identity generally known,” he asked.

Tony shook his head. “No sir. I don’t want to be treated any differently, and that happens when people know about Uncle Solly.”

“I have heard of another uncle of yours,” Hammond said with a small smile. “Dr. Matthew Perkins?”

Tony nodded. “He’s married to my father’s youngest sister,” he said.

“Quite the family you’ve got there,” the general said.

“Yes sir,” Tony replied, not sure what else to say. “It’s big.” Hammond’s smile broadened. “Can you tell me more about my assignment here?”

“Of course, son, I’m sorry.” Hammond was silent for a moment. “Our cover story is that we do research on deep space radar telemetry, but our mission is a great deal more active than that.” Tony nodded. He’d guessed that much, given the evidence he already had. “Seventy years ago, an artifact was discovered in Egypt, buried intentionally by the ancient Egyptians, and sealed with a coverstone. The US government investigated it off and on until the mid 1990s when a breakthrough came. Dr. Catherine Langford, who was in charge of the project, hired one Dr. Daniel Jackson to attempt to translate the texts on the coverstone.” Tony felt his own eyebrows climb. “Dr. Jackson was successful and discovered the use of the artifact, which the text called a Stargate.”

“A stargate?” Tony repeated. “What exactly does that mean, sir?”

“If you want a detailed explanation of the physics involved, I can arrange it, but the long and the short of it is that there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of these stargates on planets throughout the galaxy, and when given the proper coordinates, one gate can open a stable wormhole to another, permitting one-way travel.”

Tony was silent for several minutes, absorbing this statement and its implications. “Are you saying, sir, that a person can travel to other planets using this device?”

“I am, lieutenant. In the space of a few seconds.”

Tony looked down at his leg. “And I’m here to be support staff,” he said.

Hammond nodded sympathetically, as if he could see into Tony’s mind and recognized the longing there. What an opportunity that would be! To go to other planets and come back again without the passage of years . . .

“The position Colonel O'Neill has in mind is administrative head of a new clerical staff for the archeology department, and assistant to the head of that department, Dr. Jackson. It will be a demanding and challenging job, I warn you. I understand you’ve worked with combined commands before, civilians and military staff.”

“I have, sir.”

“But were they all scientists?”

“Most of them. The security staff were not, but there wasn’t much interaction, not on a professional level.”

Hammond nodded. “Well, in this command, many of the civilian scientists work closely with their military colleagues. The premier team, SG-1, is made up of Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Samantha Carter, who is also a doctor in astrophysics and engineering, and another man who you’ll hear more about later.”

“I see.”

“This does lead to friction. It also has a tendency to annoy some of the support staff who would rather be doing field work. Dr. Jackson, for example, goes on field missions while they must remain on base and file.”

“I see what you mean,” Tony said.

“We planned to have things a little better prepared for you when you arrived. A selection of candidates for your staff, a fully developed job description, an office, memos sent to the rest of the facility explaining who you were and what you were going to be doing.” Hammond paused and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Dr. Jackson was going to be informed of your selection as his assistant and warned of your arrival.” Tony blinked. “At this point, he doesn’t even know about the restructuring of his department to include a clerical staff.”

“Are you saying he doesn’t even know my post is being created, much less that I’m to be taking it up soon?”

“No, he doesn’t,” Hammond said. “A meeting was scheduled for three weeks ago yesterday, for Colonel O'Neill, myself and Dr. Jackson to discuss the situation, but on SG-1’s mission four weeks ago, the natives of P3R118 arrested and imprisoned them. We only retrieved them the day before yesterday, and none of them is in top shape. With Colonel O'Neill in the infirmary and Dr. Jackson –” Hammond compressed his lips. “I simply don’t feel now is the time to bring it up.” Tony nodded, wondering what on earth was wrong with Dr. Jackson. No one seemed to want to talk about it, whatever it was. “So, with the understanding that your post will eventually be administrative head of the archeology department, I’m going to assign you to another task for the time being, one quite urgently needed as it happens.”

“Of course, sir,” Tony said, and waited respectfully for the general to elaborate.

“When SG-1 returned, they brought with them two hundred and seven refugees from the planet they had been held prisoner on. We need to process them all, find out their names, ages, and so forth, reassure them that they will be safe and well taken care of, and begin to schedule their departure, based on health and other concerns, for the refugee camp we’re negotiating to set up on another planet.”

“And you want me to help?” Tony asked, eyes wide.

“Actually, I want you to take charge of the effort,” Hammond said. “The man who’s coordinating it now has other duties that I need him to get back to. It’s not a usual situation for us, the sudden influx of refugees, so we don’t have an officer who handles it.”

“Um . . . are these human refugees, sir?” Tony asked. “I mean, other planets, I . . .”

Hammond nodded. “For the moment, all you need to know is that these are humans who have been enslaved by their own culture and had their memories meddled with. We don’t know a lot about them individually, but we do have one of the leaders of their planet under arrest for crimes against our team, and anything these refugees can add to his docket will be gratefully received.”

Tony considered this and nodded. “Of course, sir. Whatever you want me to do.”

“Thank you, lieutenant. Report to Lt. Sanchez in Room 51D and he will explain our procedures to you and introduce you to our refugees. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to come to me.”

“You sir?” Tony asked.

“Yes, me, son,” the general replied gently. “I would rather you got your information from me or from Colonel O'Neill, however, since the colonel is out of the picture, it will have to be me.”

“Who do I report to on this refugee matter?”

“Me,” the general said. “And when you are in position as Dr. Jackson’s assistant, you will have a very short chain of command. The archeology department is autonomous within the base hierarchy. It almost has to be, given that most of its staff are civilians. Dr. Jackson will be your boss, but your military superior will be Colonel O'Neill, who is second in command of the base.”

“I see,” Tony said, feeling a little stunned.

“And as Dr. Jackson’s assistant, you will be privy to more classified information than most of the officers on the base, one of the reasons we had to check you out so thoroughly before offering you this position.”

Tony gulped. “I see, sir.”

“Buck up, son,” Hammond said. “You’ll settle in fine.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Dismissed.”

Tony got up and so did the general. “Um . . . sir?” Hammond turned back towards him. “May I pay a visit to Colonel O'Neill, or is he in isolation?”

Hammond’s eyes widened. “No, he’s not in isolation. Of course you can visit him, son.” He pursed his lips. “Maybe you’d better sit down again for a moment.” Tony did, somewhat nervously. “Forgive me, I had not anticipated that request. I should have, I suppose, but . . .” He pursed his lips. “I had better tell you . . . if you intend to spend any time with Colonel O'Neill, you will undoubtedly meet Dr. Jackson. They are very close.”

There was a pause, and after a moment, Tony gathered his courage. “And?”

Hammond grimaced. “And on their last mission, there was some torture involved,” he said.

Tony’s eyes widened. “So, is Dr. Jackson in the infirmary, too?”

Hammond shook his head. “No, he’s not. It’s . . . it’s somewhat complicated.” He sighed. “Well, we’re going to give you free access to SG-1’s mission reports, so you will find out eventually.”

“Sir, you’re alarming me.”

Hammond took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s difficult to talk about. Dr. Jackson was sexually assaulted by the leader of the planet, and Colonel O'Neill was forced to watch.”

Tony’s jaw dropped and he stopped breathing for a moment. “Good God!” he exclaimed.

“As I’m sure you can imagine, I’d rather you didn’t bring it up. We’re not sure how exactly to handle the situation, but we’re working on it. In the meantime, it’s something to be aware of if you see either of them.”

“Right,” Tony said. “But . . . are they going to be okay?”

“Yes, they’ll be fine,” Hammond said, and it was clear that the general had a very good game face, because he sounded completely convincing. He stood up and pressed a button on his desk. “Msgt. Harriman will show you to the infirmary.”

Harriman gave him a brief tour of the base as they passed through the halls. When they reached the infirmary, he took him first into the main room where he introduced him a petite woman with a blazing personality. “Dr. Fraiser, this is Lt. Sciaparelli.” She was wearing blues with major’s clusters.

“Yes, General Hammond told me he’d be coming. Thank you sergeant.” Harriman nodded and left, and Fraiser smiled at Tony. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. The colonel is over here, in a separate room.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” She led him out into the hall and down to another room.

“Colonel, I –”

“Lt. Sciaparelli!” came an exclamation from the bed, and Tony saw Colonel O'Neill sitting up in bed. “Hi, you’re here. Finally. How’s the leg?”

“Good enough,” Tony said, walking across to a chair and sitting down. He propped his cane up against the wall by the bed.

“Hey, let me see that,” O'Neill said. Tony handed him the cane, not sure what to expect.

“I’ll leave you two alone, then,” Fraiser said with a grin and left.

“This is pretty fancy,” O'Neill said, looking at the carved mahogany with its brass tip and knobby L handle. “Last time I saw you it was just standard issue silver with a rubber tip. Nice change.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “My brother Mike said I needed ‘bling,’ whatever that is, so he got me this. It’s nice, but a little . . . I don’t know . . .”

“It is nice,” Jack said. “And if you ever don’t need it, you can put it away for your old age.”

“That’s the trouble, sir,” Tony said. “I’ll always need it. The doctors have done everything they can. My condition is permanent.” He took the cane back from O'Neill. “This just sort of confirms that fact in an undeniable way.” He leaned it against the wall.

“I can understand what you mean,” O'Neill said.

“How are you feeling?” Tony asked after a silence.

“Like someone shot a bullet through my shoulder.”

“Wow,” Tony said. “How often does that happen to you?”

“Oftener than I’d like. I told you this was no sinecure.”

“Jack, are you feeling well?” asked a voice from the door. O'Neill looked up suspiciously. “That’s another four syllable word in two days. We are going to have to play Scrabble soon.” Tony turned and saw a dark-haired man in the doorway wearing green fatigues and a black t-shirt. He was grinning, but it seemed kind of forced to Tony.

“It’s one thing to know the words, Daniel, quite another to know how to spell them.”

The other man rolled his eyes and walked around to a chair on the other side of the bed. “Right, Jack.” He smiled at Tony. “So, you going to introduce me to your friend?”

Colonel O'Neill shot a panicked look at him. “This is Tony, Daniel. Tony, this is Daniel Jackson.”

“Hello, Dr. Jackson,” Tony said, startled by O'Neill’s sudden use of his first name.

“Call me Daniel.”

“So, what brings you to Cheyenne Mountain?” Dr. Jackson asked.

Before Tony could do more than open his mouth to respond, O'Neill grew even more panicked and started babbling. “Oh . . . um . . . that’s actually a funny story, Daniel. I met Tony on a plane while you were on 888.”

“Sir?” Tony said, wondering what was wrong with the colonel.

O'Neill waved him silent and kept talking. “We got to talking . . . he’s got an uncle, a historian, knows all there is to know about icons.”

“Incans,” Tony said. “Sir –”

“Whatever,” O'Neill said. “And he’s got an interest in history and archeology himself, not that he’s an expert or anything, only speaks a couple of languages . . . Italian, I think . . .”

“Chinese, sir,” Tony said. “And Latin. But I can swear in Italian.”

“Jack, what are you telling me all this?”

“Well, see, Daniel, I thought he’d make a swell addition to . . . to . . . well –”

“Sir,” Tony said, “I think –”

“So he’s joining the SGC,” Dr. Jackson said with a confused smile. “Makes sense. What team?” He looked brightly at Tony.

“No team, actually, Daniel,” O'Neill said. “He’s . . . he was about an inch from a medical discharge. He’s a hero, you see. He saved a whole bunch of guys off a wrecked plane.”

Tony flushed at the abrupt change of topic. “I’m not a hero,” he said, but the words were lost on both men.

“That’s very impressive,” Dr. Jackson said. “Again, Jack, I don’t really understand why you're telling me this stuff.”

“Well, the crash gave him a permanent limp, that’s why he was going to get a medical, but he didn’t want it, already refused one once, and I thought . . . well, his last posting was at a facility that combined civilians and soldiers, and he worked really well there. Stellar performance reviews from both military and civilian supervisors.”

“Jack . . .” Dr. Jackson threw Tony a sympathetic look. “Come on, you’re embarrassing him.”

“He’s perfect for the post I have him in mind for. We already know he works well with civilians, and he’s even interested in archeology and language.”

“Jack, you’re babbling.”

“Sir, I –”

“I am not babbling. He’s a great guy, and you need an assistant!” O'Neill was glaring at Dr. Jackson as if daring him to dispute the statement.

A tense silence fell over the room and Tony could see why Hammond hadn’t wanted to bring this up just yet. Maybe he should have contacted Colonel O'Neill about that.

“An assistant?” Dr. Jackson said with a hint of buried anger in his tone.

“It’s not a dirty word, Daniel. An assistant. You need one, we all know that. You’d know that if you’d stop trying to carry the world on your shoulders.” He grimaced. “Admittedly, you’re doing a great job of it, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use some help.”

“Jack, I –”

“It’s not like admitting that you need a little help from time to time would somehow diminish you, Daniel.”

“If I did, I would,” Dr. Jackson said. “So, you finally decided your military buddies were right, that I can’t really hack it in a –”

“Don’t even go there, Daniel,” O'Neill replied sharply. “You know damned well I don’t think that way. I just know that your time and your abilities are valuable, and that you need some help so you can maximize your time.”

“So I’m inefficient?”

“Daniel, don’t be an idiot!” Jackson started to speak but O'Neill raised a hand, looking tired. “Daniel, please, not now.” The archeologist subsided, looking unhappy. “You know I don’t think that,” O'Neill said firmly, and Jackson bit his lip. “You know I have the highest respect for both you and your abilities. I just think you deserve a little extra help, Daniel.”

Dr. Jackson took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Of course, Jack. I know you only want to help.” Colonel O'Neill’s face grew long and unhappy, and Tony really wondered why he had to be here for this. “Jack?” Dr. Jackson said, sounding worried.

“Yeah Daniel?” O'Neill said glumly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, the way you say that, it’s like what you say to someone who’s annoying you, but who you know means well. I don’t mean well, Daniel.”

“I’m going to choose to take that how you meant it,” Dr. Jackson said with a dry, unwilling grin.

“Sirs,” Tony said abruptly, and they both turned to him as if they’d forgotten he was there. “I just came by to see you, colonel.”

“Oh,” O'Neill said. “Um . . . thank you.”

“And General Hammond actually assigned me, temporarily, to work with the refugees.”

Dr. Jackson’s eye widened. “Oh, of course.”

“Thanks for coming by,” O'Neill said.

As Tony rose to go, Dr. Jackson spoke again. “I’ll see you later. I’ve got some things I wanted to give . . . I can help you work with them. I mean, they trust me. I was . . . I was there.”

Tony smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you then, and I’m sure I’ll appreciate your help.” He opened the door. “Maybe I’ll bring you some flowers later,” he added with a grin.

“Daffodils,” O'Neill said abruptly. “I like daffodils.”

Tony nodded again. “Okay. I’ll bring daffodils.” He shrugged and left, not sure what else to say. He felt very much as if he’d gotten stuck in the middle of a very private conversation. He escaped with relief and got directions to where he needed to be.

* * *

There was silence for a moment after Lt. Sciaparelli left, and Daniel waited to see what Jack would say. He couldn’t believe that Jack had gone behind his back and found him an assistant. A nice guy, a perfect guy, a guy Daniel couldn’t begin to object to.

“Daniel, are you actually mad?” Jack asked finally. Daniel didn’t speak. He didn’t know what to say. The answer was too complicated for a simple affirmation or denial. “For crying out loud, Daniel,” Jack exclaimed, and now he sounded a little desperate. “You know what I think of you.”

“I do, but . . .” Dr. Jackson shook his head. “I know how you mean it, and I’m sorry I got angry at you, but I also know how other people are going to take it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tolliver, for example, is going to decide that it proves that I’m a useless moron.”

“And who cares what Tolliver thinks of you?” O'Neill demanded. “And he’s not going to think anything of the kind once Tony starts. That’s his job, to whip guys like Tolliver into shape for you.”

“Last I checked, Tolliver was a major and Tony is a lowly lieutenant. How does that work?”

“It’s the mystery of the military mindset,” Jack replied with a grin. “And something to do with hierarchies and chains of command.”

“Fine, what’s Tony’s hierarchy?” Daniel asked.

“Well, you’ll be his boss, but I’ll be his military superior. On the other hand, Tolliver answers to Colonel Henessey, who answers me.”

“Sounds pretty similar to me,” Daniel said.

Jack shook his head. “In departmental matters, Daniel, you don’t answer to me. You answer directly to the general. In this case, Tony sort of has two chains of command. You, then the general, and me, then the general. Either way, he’s got a shorter command structure than Tolliver. Besides, Major Tolliver is head of a purely administrative department, and Tony is head of an administrative staff in a larger department. Because archeology is a more active part of the command, Tony’s position has a different kind of prestige, which will also give Tony an edge.”

Daniel sighed. “Someday I’m going to have to write a book about the culture of the military as seen by a civilian consultant.”

Jack blinked at him, then tilted his head. “Sounds like it could be either fascinating or infuriating.”

“Which is why, if I ever write it, I’ll leave it to be published ten years after my death.”

“Why ten years?” Jack asked.

“Because I don’t want to come back after it’s been read,” Daniel said, shrugging, and Jack’s eyes widened. “I figure ten years is . . . well . . . thoroughly dead.”

Jack shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about that.” His eyes met Daniel’s. “Honestly, Daniel, I don’t mean any insult or anything negative. I really think that you deserve an assistant to help you with the mundane tasks and free up your time a little for the important stuff you do.”

“What mundane tasks?”

“How about sorting out the files that were misdirected to you and getting them where they’re supposed to be?” Jack said, raising an eyebrow. “I seem to recall we had this conversation and you said I couldn’t address it directly because I’d ‘burnt my bridges’ as you put it so succinctly.”

“Right,” Daniel said, wondering where Jack was going.

“And I told you I had no intention of doing anything.”

“Yes, Jack, I remember.” Daniel also remembered the vague sense of disappointment he’d felt when Jack had said that. He’d somewhat hoped Jack would find a way to do something about it, but . . . . It didn’t matter.

“Well, that’s because I had already done something. I found Tony while you were on P3X-888, but he wasn’t available until now because of medical complications.” Daniel blinked. “So I knew I had him coming, and I figured I would just see to it that he would deal with the problem. Thus, I am not doing anything that might look like acting out of guilt rather than genuine conviction, I’m not going to Hammond and having him solve the problem, and, best yet, the problem will be dealt with by someone completely new to the SGC, so there’s no personal agenda involved.”

“So why did you want to know when it started?” Daniel asked, thinking back on that conversation.

“I wanted to find out if it was a result of my behavior or if it was simply Tolliver being a twit.”

There was silence between them for a moment as Daniel digested this. He met Jack’s eyes and saw a desperate plea for understanding. He grimaced. “So, Tony’s going to be my military liaison?”

Jack’s eyes widened again. “No, nothing like that.” He shook his head adamantly. “Daniel, listen to me. Tony is in no way in charge of you. You’re in charge of him.”

“Right. Military guy in my department, and he’s not in charge.”

“Just the clerical staff, but even so, you’re in charge of him. You are autonomous, just as before, you just have someone who will facilitate the mundane details of your job and free you to do important things.”

Daniel nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense. I would like to have been consulted, though.”

“It was truly a spur of the moment thing,” Jack said. “I met Tony on the plane to Baltimore and got to know him. He talked about his uncle –”

“The one who knows all about Incans?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember his name. It’s not Italian.” Jack paused for a moment. “Uncle Matt, that’s what he called him.”

Daniel thought for a moment. “Uncle Matt? There’s Matthew Boskin, but he’s awfully old to be Tony’s uncle. I think he’s in his eighties.”

“No, I get the feeling he’s more my age,” Jack said.

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “Is this guy an archeologist or –”

“No, a historian, and a professor somewhere back east, I think. Boston.”

“Matthew Perkins?” Daniel said.

“That’s him. Dr. Matthew Perkins. Tony was talking about how his uncle had fostered his interest in archeology –”

“He really does have an interest in archeology?”

“A hobby,” Jack replied. “He knew who you were, said his uncle told him that your research was excellent, but that even good research can lead to erroneous conclusions.” Daniel raised his eyebrows, and Jack hurried on, as if afraid of what he’d say. “So then he told a funny story about how his grandmother had needed to go up and drag his Uncle Matt down to dinner by the ear because he just forgets to eat, and I –”

“And you decided to tell some funny stories about your friend, the absent-minded scholar.”

“I leave plates at your elbow, Daniel,” Jack said, giving him a glare. “You don’t notice me coming in, you don’t notice me leaving, but you do eat the food. Apparently, that’s exactly what Tony’s Aunt Gina does, so I guess it’s a standard way to handle absent-minded academicians.”

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Great, so is he also my babysitter?”

“What if he is? You need one sometimes, and that’s not an insult.” Daniel glared, but Jack wasn’t backing off. “It’s not. You get focused, and sometimes that’s really important.”

“And sometimes it’s a source of humor.”

“Yeah, okay, sometimes it is, but so what? I’m the butt of more jokes around here than you are.”

“Are not!”

“Am so!”

“Are not!”

“Come on, Daniel. Apart from a few jokes about eggheads aimed at Carter, and the rare moment when someone dares to make fun of Teal'c, most of the humor has been at my expense.”

“Jack, don’t even go there. It’s not true, and you know it.”

“It is.

“It’s not.

“Is so.”

“Is not!”

“Is –”

Someone cleared his throat at the door and both Daniel and Jack turned in surprise. General Hammond was smiling at them. “At the risk of interrupting this extremely stimulating conversation, I’m afraid I have to speak to Colonel O'Neill.”

“Oh, of course,” Daniel said, getting up. He gave in to a sudden mischievous impulse. “And thank you, general, for informing me about my new assistant.”

Hammond’s jaw dropped and his eyes darted towards Jack. “I . . . uh . . . but I . . .”

“I do like being kept in the loop about these things,” Daniel added.

“I didn’t – I thought –”

“But I’d better get out of your way.” He left the room as the camera operator entered with his equipment. He fled to the safety of his office and sat down, staring at the huge pile of files. Questions still filled his mind. So far he’d avoided thinking about the previous evening’s epiphany, first being as normal as possible with Jack, watching violent movies, then drinking a couple of shots of brandy to make him sleep easier.

Now he couldn’t avoid it any longer. Would Calder have grabbed them all the way he had if he hadn’t wanted Daniel? Would any of it have happened? He stared down at his desk, wondering if he’d ever find out.

Abruptly he stood up and started walking. Fortunately, the elevator was opening when he reached it, or he might have lost his courage, but he strode right in as Sgt. Saunders left it, barely nodding at her. He pressed the button for the level he wanted and tried not to think too hard about what he was doing.

The guards at the door to the detention area barely even questioned him. He just let them think he was there on business and walked in, leaving them outside. He didn’t want to go inside the damned cell, he just had a couple of questions to ask.

He walked up to the door of Calder’s cell and opened the little window. Calder was sitting on one of the lower bunks, leaning against the wall and staring at the opening in the door. Staring at Daniel, eyes widening appreciatively. Daniel’s heart leapt into his throat and his mouth went dry.

“Daniel!” Calder said, his voice smooth as silk. “I wondered how long you could stay away. Have you missed me?”

Daniel swallowed the bile that rose in his throat. “Not hardly,” he said, and his voice stayed level despite his internal tremors. “I just have two questions and then I intend to get as far away from you as possible.”

Calder swung his feet down and walked slowly towards the door. As he got closer, Daniel’s stomach seized up and he backed away involuntarily. He stopped when his back hit the wall and Calder’s lips twitched with amusement. “You have questions, Daniel?” he asked.

“I do,” Daniel said. He took a deep breath. “Did you just take advantage of an opportunity, or were you . . . did you . . . would you have taken steps . . . anyway?”

Calder smiled, and his eyes ran up and down Daniel’s body. “From the moment I first saw you, I wanted to taste your skin.”

Daniel tried and failed to control a shudder. “That doesn’t answer my question,” he said, his tone gone flat from the effort it took to remaining calm.

“No, but you're blushing, and you’re frightened, and I quite enjoy that.”

“Are you going to answer my question?” Daniel asked, keeping his voice steady by force of will.

“I would have done whatever it took to keep you, my Daniel. I had planned to ask for you as our ambassador, and if your people had refused me, I suspect the gate would have mysteriously stopped working, at least temporarily.” Calder’s smile broadened. “With you on my side of it, of course.”

“So Jack’s confrontation just gave you an excuse.”

Calder shrugged. “A happy coincidence. I had just begun contemplating a way to secure you by framing your people for some crime, then your Colonel O'Neill happens to commit one.” Daniel nodded, then turned and started walking away. “Oh Daniel!” Calder called. “Do come back for another chat sometime.” Before Daniel got to the end of the hall, the door opened, and General Hammond strode in. “You could come in. I would adore touching that gorgeous skin of yours again.” Daniel flinched and hurried through the open door.

Hammond followed him out. “What the devil were you thinking, Dr. Jackson?” he demanded.

The guards shut the door behind them, mercifully cutting off Calder’s voice. Daniel kept going. He hadn’t been lying when he said he wanted to get as far as possible away from Calder. He had to stop when he reached the elevators, though, and Hammond caught up with him.

“Dr. Jackson, I –” Hammond broke off when he saw Daniel’s face. “My office. Now.” The general steered Daniel into the elevator, pressed the button for Level 27, and then guided him into his office, closing the door firmly and giving orders that he was not to be disturbed. He pushed Daniel into one of the chairs that sat in front of his desk and handed him a box of tissues. It was only then that Daniel realized he was crying. “That was very foolish, son,” Hammond said, sitting down in the other chair and reaching out to pat Daniel’s hand.

“It was my fault,” Daniel said. “I . . . I should resign.”

“What?” Hammond exclaimed. “Not you too!”

“Too?” Daniel repeated, momentarily jarred out of his misery. “What do you mean ‘too’?”

“Never mind. You can’t resign, Dr. Jackson.”

“I can, and I should. I endanger the team.”

“Dr. Jackson –”

“You don’t understand!” Daniel said sharply, and Hammond broke off. “He would have done it anyway. Jack confronting him was only an excuse. He would have done something else.”

“I don’t understand why that means you should resign,” Hammond said softly.

“Because it’s my fault. He would have done it just to get hold of me.”

“I don’t see how that makes it your fault.”

Daniel shook his head. He clutched the tissue box without pulling any out. “People keep coming after me, doing things to the others to get hold of me. I can’t keep endangering them!”

“Dr. Jackson –”

“Hathor, Shyla, Calder, there are more, I just can’t think of them right now. I attract wackos, and I don’t know why!”

Hammond squeezed his hand. “Sha’re wasn’t a wacko,” he said gently.

Tears started to pour down Daniel’s face in earnest. “I miss her so much,” he said, his voice distorted by emotion. “And he said it would be a ‘waste of resources’ for me to remain attached to my dead wife. He said that he’d have sympathy for me, but . . .” Daniel shook his head. “What do people like that see in me?” He looked blindly at the general. “I mean people like Jim and Jack and Sha’re, I can understand them, but Calder said he wanted . . . he wanted me from the moment he saw me. Why?”

“I can’t pretend to understand a mind like Calder’s, Daniel,” Hammond said. “But I can tell you that he isn’t someone to listen to. God only knows if he was telling the truth just now, and what difference does it make if he was? You aren’t defined by his opinion of you, nor by his desire for you.”

“But it’s not just him,” Daniel said. “So many others . . .”

Hammond stood up and squatted beside him. “Listen to me, Daniel.” He reached up and turned Daniel’s face so that they were looking eye to eye. “You are not to blame for people like Calder, or Hathor, or any of them. You are a good man, and we need you to get our job done. You are an invaluable part of this organization.”

“I just don’t understand why!” Daniel said. “Is there something I could do that would make me less . . . less . . .”

“Daniel, you shouldn’t change yourself because some bastard hurt you,” Hammond said earnestly. “Don’t let him win.”

Daniel was shaking. He couldn’t move away from Hammond, but he wanted desperately to have some space. He pulled away as much as he could, and the general seemed to get the message. He drew a little further back, at any rate, giving Daniel more room to breathe. Daniel pulled his knees up and hugged his legs. “I want to be alone.”

“Will you stay here?” Hammond asked. Daniel nodded. “I’ll make sure no one bothers you, but you need to stay here.”

“I won’t go back to see Calder again,” Daniel said. “I shouldn’t have gone in the first place.”

“I can agree with that,” Hammond said, standing up. “Why did you go, anyway? Did you honestly believe that he’d tell you the truth?”

Daniel snorted and shrugged, trying to control his continued trembling. “I don’t think there was much in the way of rational thought involved. That . . . that sudden realization that he’d wanted me more than he’d wanted revenge against Jack was what got me last night.”

“Whether that’s true or not, Daniel, it doesn’t change who you are in any way.” Daniel nodded, but Hammond must not have thought he looked very convinced. “I truly believe that. You’re very important, not just to the mission here, but to me personally. Don’t let bastards like Calder win.”

Daniel freed a hand and squeezed Hammond’s hand. “Thank you, sir.” Hammond smiled and squeezed back, then he left. Daniel realized that he had to have been called away from Jack’s report, which meant that Jack knew something was up. Daniel could only hope he didn’t know what.

* * *

Jack sat with Sgt. Kramer, trying to watch an episode of _The Simpsons_ and failing to concentrate. He wanted to know what that call had been about. Hammond had picked up the phone, listened for a moment, then his eyes had flashed to Jack’s face for a second. Then he’d concocted some lame excuse that Jack couldn’t even remember now and left hastily.

Kramer burst out laughing, and Jack jumped in surprise. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the sergeant turned to look at him. “Do you need something, sir? Should I get Doc Fraiser?”

“No, I’m fine, I was just thinking about something else and you startled me.”

“Oh.” Kramer was still looking at him worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m good, but could you get me something to drink? Juice or something on the approved list. Somehow I don’t think doc would go for a beer.”

“I doubt it.” Kramer got up. “I’ll be back in a few.”

Jack stared unseeing at the screen. He suddenly didn’t like being alone. Thoughts started swirling in his head, images, sounds . . . slurping, grunts of pleasure, Daniel’s protests, Daniel’s desperate plea for Calder to let the rest of them go. Calder’s questions, Calder’s insinuations, Calder’s overwhelming enjoyment of his rape of the best and truest man Jack had ever known. And it was all Jack’s fault.

“Stop it.” Jack turned to see Hammond staring down at him. The general backed out of the room and said, “Sergeant, give that to me and take a break. Doctor, I’m going to close the door.”

“What sir?” Jack asked, grateful for the interruption of his thoughts. “Stop what?”

Hammond shut the door securely and walked over to sit down beside the bed. “Whatever self-flagellation you’re engaging in.”

“General –”

“I just left Daniel Jackson in my office, engaging in his own form of self-flagellation.”

Jack looked up, startled. “What? Why would he –”

“Apparently, it’s his fault that Calder took you all because he wanted Daniel. Your confrontation merely gave him a convenient excuse.”

“That’s crazy, sir,” Jack said.

“I know, though he at least has some form of confirmation of his theory.”

“How so?”

“He went to see Calder and asked him.”

“What!?” Jack started upright, but Hammond jumped up and pressed him back. “But he – if he – did that bastard touch him?”

“No, Daniel kept away from the bars.” Hammond moistened his lips. “Jack, you are not to blame for this, and neither is Daniel Jackson. You know damned well who’s to blame, and it isn’t you, it isn’t Major Carter, it isn’t Teal'c, and it certainly isn’t Daniel Jackson.”

“Calder did it, but I gave him the opening,” Jack said.

Hammond gazed steadily at him. “You screwed up,” he said bluntly, and Jack nodded, glad to have that settled. “But that doesn’t make what happened to Dr. Jackson your fault. You are responsible for your error and any foreseeable consequences of your error, but quite frankly, there is no way you could have foreseen this particular consequence. There was no indication of this sort of behavior in their society, and even Dr. Jackson, our cultural expert, hadn’t picked up on their continued use of slavery until the moment the two of you found that underground plant. There was no hint in any of your reports that there were signs of sexual servitude. Tell me, did you conceal anything?”

“No, of course not!” Jack said.

“Then there was nothing foreseeable about what happened. Therefore, you are not responsible for those consequences.”

“Sir – I –” Jack shook his head. “Every time I spend a minute alone, I see it . . . I hear it . . . I feel so incredibly guilty.”

“And that’s natural, but please don’t try to translate it into a reason to resign as all of you have tried to do. Dr. Lisle will be here tomorrow, and I hope devoutly that she will be able to help you.”

“I can’t stand it,” Jack said, and he rubbed his eyes, which were burning with unshed tears. “I failed him. I couldn’t stop the bastard. I tried, but even then all I did was kill the wrong guy.”

“Colonel –”

“Look, maybe we should get back to work. Then you can find someone to stay with me and keep my mind off stuff.”

Hammond gazed at him for a moment, then nodded. “I think that’s a plan,” he said, and went to call Kramer back in. Jack took a deep breath. Maybe if he could finish talking about the events, the memories would leave him alone.


	27. Chapter 27

Daniel took the black queen with a bishop and set the piece down in the box. Jack knit his brows and gazed at the few black pieces that remained on the board. “You know, Daniel, you’re really sucking at this today,” he said.

“I am?” Daniel asked disbelievingly. “I think I’m doing fine.” Jack blinked at him a few times, then moved his rook to take Daniel’s king. Daniel stared in dismay. The bishop he’d moved had stood between the black rook and the white king until Daniel had gotten the bright idea to take the black queen. “Okay, maybe not.”

“Well, when you put your own king in checkmate, it’s usually not a good sign,” Jack observed with a grin, then he shrugged ruefully. “We’re both off today.”

Daniel sagged back in his chair. “Yeah.” Jack started putting the pieces away, and Daniel shook his head. Sitting forward again, he said, “Let me do that. You’re . . . your . . .”

“I’m perfectly capable of handling a few chess pieces, Daniel,” Jack said. “Truly.”

Daniel nodded and leaned back again, feeling awkward and tense. The previous evening they’d had TV to watch, stupid dialogue to talk about. This morning was dragging, and neither of them seemed to have much to say. Daniel was finding it difficult to keep up a steady stream of chatter, and Jack kept going silent as well. It was making for a stressful time.

The door opened as Jack closed the game box and they both looked up hopefully. It was General Hammond, and the thought of what the general knew about him, about what had happened to him, made Daniel turn away instantly.

“Good morning, how are the two of you?” Hammond asked.

“Great,” Jack said, and Daniel nodded.

“Well, at the risk of making you both more uneasy, I’ve come to tell you both that Dr. Lisle is here. She’s been settling into her new office, and she’s got some time available this morning. Dr. Jackson?”

Daniel’s eyes widened, and he looked down to find his hands twisting together in his lap. The general had mentioned Dr. Lisle in vague way during his testimony, but Daniel had been able to tell, even though the general hadn’t said so, that he wanted Daniel to see her. Now she was here, and the general was here saying it was time. Daniel’s stomach clenched. He’d successfully avoided thinking about this upcoming appointment at all over the last few days, so now all the feelings of stress and dismay washed over him at once.

The general touched his shoulder lightly and spoke very gently. “Dr. Jackson?”

When Daniel looked up, he saw that both Jack and General Hammond were looking worriedly at him, and he bit his lip. He opened his mouth, but could find no voice to say the words that tumbled through his mind, so he closed it again helplessly.

Jack cleared his throat. “Sir, do you mind if I talk to Daniel alone for a minute?” he said as the silence dragged on.

“Yes, of course,” Hammond said. He squeezed Daniel’s shoulder and stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.

Daniel looked at Jack, whose eyes were warm with concern and love. Daniel wanted to reach out and take his hand, for comfort, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t fair. Not with the way Jack felt about him. He turned away uneasily. “Daniel?” Jack said, and he turned back to meet Jack’s eyes again. “You need to talk to this woman.”

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m really not sure I can,” he said in a shaky voice. “I . . . McKenzie isn’t the first shrink who’s decided I’m a basket case, just the first one who ever managed to put me away.” Jack flinched, and Daniel felt a stab of guilt. “It’s not your fault,” he hastened to say. “I didn’t mean –”

Jack shook his head. “Don’t, Daniel, it’s fine,” he said. “I have it on good authority that this woman is different from McKenzie. Quite possibly she’s different from anyone you’ve ever dealt with before. Hammond thinks the world of her, and he’s not easy to impress.” Daniel nodded. “I also think you should tell her everything.” Daniel’s eyes widened at the slight emphasis Jack placed on the last word. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Jack leaned forward and took his hand, squeezing it firmly and giving him an intent look that told Daniel that he was completely serious. Then he leaned back in the bed and smiled. “I certainly intend to,” he added in a deliberately casual voice.

“You do?” Daniel asked after a moment.

“Oh yeah,” Jack said. “I don’t know how she could possibly help if she didn’t know it all.”

Daniel nodded. “Okay.” He shivered. “I just . . .”

“It will be okay, Daniel,” Jack said. “I promise, you’ll be okay again.”

Daniel stood up and, after a moment’s silent contemplation, he gave in to a devilish whim and tousled Jack’s hair for him. “I’ll see you later.”

“Teal'c should be here any time now,” Jack said, straightening his hair with a sour look at Daniel. “Go, it’ll be fine.”

Daniel gave Jack a sickly smile, then walked out to where the general was waiting. “I’m ready, I guess,” he said.

“Good.” Hammond led him towards the elevator, and when they were underway he gave Daniel a reassuring smile. “She won’t bite, son,” he said.

Daniel tried to match the general’s smile with one of his own, but failed dismally. He looked back down at his feet. “I don’t like shrinks, sir,” he said.

“I know, son.” Hammond put his arm around Daniel’s shoulder. “But I think you’ll like this one. She’s a unique individual.”

“We’re all unique individuals, sir,” Daniel said.

Hammond took in a deep breath and sighed. “I’m not explaining myself well, I see.”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said, instantly contrite. “I just . . . never mind.”

“Don’t worry, Dr. Jackson,” Hammond said, giving him a squeeze, then letting go as the elevator doors opened. “I’m _not_ explaining myself well. I think you’ll understand when you meet her.”

Daniel grimaced. “I know. I’m sure . . I . . . I just . . .” He shrugged. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all anyone can ask,” the general said. “Here we are.” It was an office with a standard door. Hammond knocked and a voice called for them to come in. Hammond opened the door and Daniel followed him in. She was nowhere in sight, but Daniel could hear her moving around. As Hammond moved to the side, Daniel saw that there were a few framed pictures on a console behind the desk. A middle-aged man standing next to a gigantic blue truck wearing a ball cap and a heavy jacket, a couple of school pictures of teenagers grinning widely.

Daniel turned to see her, expecting someone who could be the wife of the man, mother of the children, and found himself face to face with a silver-gilt grandma in comfortable jeans and a green turtleneck.

“Dr. Lisle,” Hammond said. “This is Dr. Jackson.”

The grandma smiled and there were dimples. Daniel held out his hand. “Hi,” he said.

She took his hand in a firm grip. “Hello.”

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone,” Hammond said. He gave Daniel another reassuring smile and walked out, shutting the door behind him.

Daniel dropped his hand to his side and swallowed uncomfortably. “So, what now?” he said, and his voice wobbled a bit.

She blinked. “I roast you and feed you to my grandchildren,” she said with utmost sincerity.

Daniel stared at her for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. “Did I look that terrified?”

“Hansel and Gretel terrified,” she replied with a smile. “Please, sit down. I promise, I don’t bite unless asked, and I don’t have any intention of being ogre-like.” Daniel took a deep breath and selected one of the overstuffed chairs. She settled in the other one. “I gather you’ve had some less than positive experiences with therapy in the past?”

“You could say that,” Daniel replied. He took a deep breath. Jack told him to tell her everything, and though Daniel knew what he’d been referring to specifically, he also knew that there were other things she should know. “I assume you’ll want some background on me?” She nodded pensively and reached over to the desk for a tablet. He looked down at his hands. “Do you know anything at all about me, prior to my work here?”

She shrugged. “Not really. What I know about archeology, I’ve learned from television for the most part. I took an anthropology class twenty-five years ago in college, but that’s been a while.”

He nodded and swallowed. “Well, my parents were both archeologists, and by the time I was aware of much, I only had one other living relative, my grandfather Nick Ballard.”

“I see.”

“My parents traveled a lot, so I spent much of my childhood on digs in Egypt, learning English, Arabic and ancient Egyptian at roughly the same time and rate. When I was eight, they took an opportunity to organize an exhibit of their finds at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.” He paused for several seconds and she waited patiently. “Of course, I went with them, and . . . and they were both killed in an accident. A lintel stone fell on them . . . and crushed them.” He tried to push the remembered image from his mind.

“And you were there?” she asked.

“I was there,” he said, nodding. “I saw it, and I saw all the efforts to save them, and knew it wasn’t going to work. My dad’s head was . . .” He grimaced. “Anyway, Nick was out of the country at the time, and it took a while for the authorities to track him down.”

“Nick?”

“My grandfather,” Daniel said. “He always told me to call him Nick. So, when they finally did, he came to New York and refused custody of me. Said he wasn’t a fit guardian for a young boy.” Her eyes widened, and he shrugged. “Given that he was committed to a mental hospital two years later, there may have been some justification for it. Regardless, I wound up in foster care, and social services took a look at my history and decided I needed lots and lots of therapy.”

“I can see why,” she said.

He realized that his fists were clenched and opened them again. “Yeah, I guess,” he said. “The trouble was, the first two therapists they tried were looking to bring me ‘back’ to a normalcy that I’d never experienced. I wasn’t a normal American kid. I’d spent very little time with children, most of the children I had spent time with were Egyptian. They wanted me to turn into whatever they thought a normal boy was like, and I wasn’t going there.”

“I’ve run into the type,” Dr. Lisle said. “They’re not so much looking to find out what the problems are and solve them as to fit the person into a pre-formed mold.”

“Patient,” Daniel said. “I don’t think either of them saw me as a person, Dr. Lisle.”

Her eyes widened again. “I can see what you mean,” she said. “Oh, and call me Harry. I may be old, but I don’t have to feel it.”

“Harry?” he repeated, feeling a little startled at the deviation. “Sure. Call me Daniel.”

She smiled. “Good. Now, go on. That’s the first two?”

“The third was . . . well, she had some very strong theories of her own about people, and she had no desire to stay in the social sector. I think she wanted to be a university professor, but she needed certain credentials to get there.” A reluctant smile twitched his lips. “She decided I was an ideal subject for a paper, I guess. I was tired of therapists who weren’t interested in me as a person, and I was an arrogant little . . . boy . . .” He shrugged. “I was going to her for probably about sixteen months when I found the manuscript of her paper in her desk when she was out of the office. I took it home with me and read it.”

“Oh lord!” she said. “That’s not . . . that can’t have been good.”

He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. I was about twelve and taking psychology in high school, doing a lot of outside reading.”

“You were in high school at twelve?”

“I graduated at fifteen,” Daniel said, shrugging. “Anyway, I read it and returned it at my next appointment, only I made a few editorial notes.” Dr. Lisle’s hand crept up to cover her mouth and she stared at him in wide-eyed astonishment. “I’d been reading Freud and Jung, some others, I don’t even remember who, and I . . . it was an enlightening experience, discovering exactly what she really thought of me.”

“Enlightening?” Harry asked, sounding as if she thought the word was ill-chosen.

“Okay, humiliating is a better word,” Daniel admitted. He found that his fists were clenched again. “I was more than a little angry, so I made some factual corrections where she’d fudged the truth to make me fit her analysis better, added a few details about the fallacies in her evaluation criteria, then appended a very Freudian analysis of her based on our meetings and her interpretations of my emotional state.”

“Good lord! Freudian?”

“The reading I had done suggested to me that to really piss a woman off, use Freud.” He snorted. “Needless to say, I never saw her again.”

“You never saw her again?” Harry repeated.

“That day she said something about trust being important between a therapist and a patient and that my theft of her thesis had destroyed the trust between us. I said something rude and pissy about how any trust between us had been in her imagination. That pretty much ended that.”

“I see. She sounds like a twit and a crappy therapist.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said. He looked down at his hands. “So, the next one was a guy, and he thought I needed a strong father figure. Took me out to play baseball, told me I needed to spend more time with kids my own age. He moved on after a couple of months.”

“Did you like him?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, he talked to me like I was twelve, and even though I was, I didn’t feel it. I didn’t have anyone for a while after that. I don’t know if they decided I didn’t need anyone or if they just couldn’t find anyone or what. I didn’t ask, in case they’d just forgotten and asking would remind them.”

“I can understand that.”

“Then I graduated from high school and got into the University of Chicago Egyptology program. The State of New York wasn’t comfortable with me leaving the state at sixteen. There was a lot of red tape, and I wound up getting myself emancipated. The woman who interviewed me at that point was the sanest of the lot of them, but even though she said I was ready to be on my own, she also said she thought I needed long term therapy.”

“Do you think she might have been right?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know,” Daniel said. “I don’t . . .” He sighed. “I’m not crazy.”

“Crazy people aren’t the only ones who need therapy.”

“I know that,” Daniel said. “I just . . . none of the shrinks I’ve ever dealt with understood me. They all thought they did, but they didn’t. They talked to me about how I should feel, what my reactions ought to be, but they didn’t really address what they were.”

“I want you to promise me something,” Harry said abruptly, and Daniel raised his eyebrows uncertainly. “If you feel that I’m not addressing things correctly, I want you to tell me, and we’ll work together to find a way to do that.”

Daniel looked up into her eyes and saw her sincerity. It was more than he could handle at the moment. “Okay, so . . .” He cleared his throat. “So we’re supposed to be talking about what happened on . . . on . . . P3R-118.” He blinked. “Do you know about that?”

“I have read the transcript of your testimony,” she said, and Daniel stiffened. He hated the thought of some stranger reading that. Knowing all of that. He gulped, and she reached out to touch his hand sympathetically. “The general thought it would be best that I had some information going in. I’ve also read some of your mission files.”

“I see,” Daniel said. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and as he did, he remembered something else.

“So, I –”

“There’s something I have to tell you before we . . . before we start talking about that,” he said with some urgency. She raised her eyebrows. “The general said this is confidential, but . . . is this room –”

“It’s completely confidential. The military won’t have access to my files, and all I’m required to report is whether my patients are fit for duty.”

“Yes, but . . . is the room bugged?”

She smiled and shook her head. “No.”

“Are you sure?”

“It’s been checked,” she replied, “by someone named Siler.”

“Oh,” Daniel said, feeling immeasurably relieved. “That’s . . . that’s good.”

“I take it you trust this Siler?”

“With my life,” Daniel said. “He’s a good guy.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” She paused for a moment, seeming to be waiting for something and Daniel discovered there was a lump in his throat that made it difficult to talk. “You had something you wanted to tell me?”

“I do,” he said. “This . . . it’s awkward.” She nodded, waiting. “See, there’s someone, a close friend, a very close friend, who recently declared . . . well, this friend is in love with me, and only told me a couple of months ago.”

“I see.” She leaned back in her chair, listening.

“And see, this is a problem,” Daniel said, “because this friend is in the military, and that means that . . . it really could cause serious difficulties, and I don’t want there to be difficulties, even if I don’t reciprocate the feeling, it’s . . .” He blinked at her puzzled look, realizing that he’d left a key detail out. “See, he’s a man, and I’m a man, and that’s a –” He broke off abruptly. “Oh God, I’m babbling.”

“It’s all right,” she said encouragingly. “Go on.”

He bit his lip and tried to bring his thoughts to a semblance of order. “Okay. So, he’s a man, which means the military can’t ever find out, and it . . .” He grimaced. “It makes everything so damned complicated.”

“Do you feel comfortable telling me who?” she asked tentatively.

“I . . .” Daniel gulped. “He pretty much told me I could . . . I mean, that I should.” He moistened his lips and said, “It’s Jack. I mean Colonel O'Neill.”

She paused for a moment, as if to digest the information. “I see. Did you know before this that he was gay?”

Daniel shook his head. “He’s not gay!” he protested, and Harry’s eyes widened. “He’s not. I know how that sounds, but he’s not, really. He . . . you should see the number of alien women who’ve thrown themselves at him.”

“That women want him is not an indicator of his preferences.”

“It wasn’t all one-sided,” Daniel said. “And I’ve met his wife, I’ve seen them together. I think they’d still be together if it . . .” He faltered. “If it hadn’t been for the tragedy.” He looked at her. “Do you know –”

“If you mean his son, I do know.” He nodded. “You know, it’s possible to have all those things, and still be gay.”

“I don’t think he’s gay. Even he says he’s not gay.” Daniel shook his head. “He said he’d never wanted a man before, still didn’t want any other men. I really . . . I don’t believe he’s gay in the strictest sense.” He shook his head again. “He’s not.”

“He’s just in love with you?” she asked.

Daniel nodded, and some of his control collapsed. “And I don’t understand why!” he burst out, his voice full of desperate confusion. “I don’t get it!”

“What don’t you get?”

“Why would he fall in love with me? It makes no sense!”

“Because he’s not gay?”

“That, and . . . I’m not that spectacular. I mean, I’m just a guy. Why all the interest?” He started enumerating on his fingers. “Jack says he loves me, Jim says he loves me, Calder said he wanted me from the moment he saw me.” He grimaced. “Hathor at least made sense, with the Egyptology and the code of life thing. I was a convenient male body, and even then, why pick me? Because I was the weakest person present? I mean, that’s got to be why the guy in Hadante wanted me.”

“Things are rarely that simple, Daniel,” Harry said.

“I just don’t understand what else it could be,” Daniel replied. “No one was ever interested in me until I came back from Abydos. The others, or Jack and Sam at least, have had strange sexual adventures, but not as often and never as negatively as me.”

“So are you saying that you believe Calder was simply part of a larger trend?” she asked.

“No!” Daniel said. “He’s . . . it’s not . . .” He got up and walked across the room and stared at the concrete wall. “I think he did what he did because he wanted me. The general says that even if that’s true, it doesn’t make it my fault, but . . . I seem to be a magnet for wackos.”

“So Colonel O'Neill is a wacko?”

“No, I –” Daniel shook his head. “No, Jack’s not a wacko, and neither is Jim, but . . .”

“So, you attract people other than wackos?” she said pressingly.

“Yes, but . . .” He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Who is Jim?” she asked.

“A man I met, he’s attracted to me.” He turned around. “Why would anyone be attracted to me? I’m ordinary to look at and academicians aren’t exactly what most people pant for.”

Her brows lowered and she tilted her head. “Why would anyone be attracted to you?” she asked. “Is that what you just said?”

Hearing the words repeated back to him made Daniel realize how incredibly idiotic he sounded. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “I mean why would anyone like Calder be attracted,” he said. “He told me he wanted to taste my skin from the moment he saw me.”

“That sounds like a purely physical attraction,” she commented.

“But there was more . . .” Daniel shifted uncomfortably. “He made it very personal.”

“Of course he made it personal,” she said, and Daniel stared at her in surprise. “He’s clearly a sadist. He would have made it personal for anyone he grabbed.” Daniel gulped and his arms closed more tightly around his chest. “Come back and sit down, Daniel.”

He didn’t want to move. He was trembling. “I’m fine,” he said, and his voice shook a little. “I just . . . I didn’t think about it that way.”

“He’s sick,” she said. “He uses power and domination over an unwilling partner to gain pleasure for himself, and the little game he played with you and your friend is particularly unpleasant.”

“But . . . there must be something in me that calls to that kind of sick pervert,” Daniel said. “Or why would he have come after me instead of Jack?” Daniel flushed. “Not that I’d want him to go after Jack. I mean, that’s not what I . . . I didn’t mean . . .”

Harry held up a hand. “I understand what you meant,” she said reassuringly. “And I have to say, I don’t know the answer to that question. It may be something as simple as the fact that you're ten years younger than Colonel O'Neill is, or perhaps he thought he could hurt O'Neill more by attacking you than by attacking him directly.”

Daniel shivered. “I wish it hadn’t happened.”

“Of course you do,” she said matter-of-factly. “Now come back and sit down. I need to get some more specific information about what you’re going through right now.”

Daniel did as she asked and they went through a series of questions about how he was sleeping, what kinds of dreams he was having, how he was eating, the whole gamut of questions that psychologists ask new patients. She took careful notes and finally said, “I think that just about wraps it up for today.”

“Right,” Daniel said. The question and answer session had given him time to calm down. He bit his lip. “So, when do we do this again?”

“That depends,” she replied and he raised his eyebrows. “Do you think you can work with me?”

“So far so good,” he said. “It will take time to be sure.”

“Yes, it will,” she said with a smile. “I think I’d like to see you again on Thursday, the day after tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Daniel said. “Um . . . if that’s all, then . . .”

“Yes, you may make your escape,” she said, her smile broadening. “Call me if you need to talk.”

Daniel nodded vaguely and left, going straight to his office to sit down at his desk. He wasn’t ready to be around people again. He needed to think.

Maybe Calder hadn’t hurt Daniel because of who Daniel was, maybe he’d just hurt him because he liked hurting people. Daniel was a victim selected at random, for some unknown reason, and it had nothing to do with Daniel as a person.

He shook his head. It didn’t ring true. Yes, Calder was a sadist. Yes, he’d undoubtedly had other victims. Daniel wasn’t the first. But there was something . . . he’d latched on to that imagined relationship between Jack and Daniel like a pitbull, pushing to get Daniel to reveal details about it. What if it was that? What if it was the closeness between Jack and Daniel that he’d seen and wanted to . . . tarnish . . . destroy . . . control . . . something.

Daniel put his head down on his arms. He might not be in love with Jack, but there was no doubting that he loved him. One of the reasons Jack’s behavior towards Daniel after his return from Edora had drawn so much attention was that the friendship between the two of them was so well known. Calder had seen security images of Daniel snuggled up against Jack and that combined with the closeness he and Jack shared had been enough to make him jump to the conclusion that they were lovers.

It still felt incomplete. Maybe Daniel was being to self-centered about this, but it really felt as if Calder had wanted something from him, specifically. That he’d seen something in Daniel that he wanted to own. But what? What did he want?

* * *

Hammond was in the middle of supply requisitions when there was a knock at his door. He looked up to see Dr. Lisle in the doorway. “Come in, doctor,” he said. “Please, have a seat.”

She shut the door, then walked across the room. “Call me Harry,” she said with a smile as she settled down in a chair. “I’m not one for formality.”

He allowed himself a small smile. “I’ve lived with formality so long that it’s like a comfortable shoe,” he said. “Call me George.” She nodded. “How can I help you, Harry?”

“I need to read the mission files, and I need to do it now,” she replied firmly, and Hammond nodded. “And I have a few questions that are pushing the envelope of doctor/patient confidentiality, so you’ll need to be very discreet.”

“Of course,” he said. “And you have free access to the mission logs. I told you.”

“Yes, but I will need something of a guide,” she replied. “I only want to see missions in which they encountered people, for example. Ore samples and radiation readings don’t interest me.”

“Right,” he said. “I’ll send a message to Tolliver. He’ll sort out the files you need.”

“Good.” She leaned forward slightly. “Now for the questions. Who is Hathor?”

The name felt like a blow between the eyes. “Hathor? She’s . . .” He paused. He had explained some of what they did here, and some details about the Goa'uld to her already, but apart from Ra, he hadn’t gotten too specific with names and personalities. “What do you know about Egyptian mythology?”

“I’ve been doing some reading . . .” Her eyes widened. “Not the Hathor? The cow goddess, drunkenness, fertility, all that?”

Hammond snorted sourly. “Or as Colonel O'Neill put it on one memorable occasion, sex, drugs and rock and roll.”

“So, she was Hathor, or she imitated Hathor, or what?”

“Sort of both, really,” Hammond said, trying to figure out how to explain it clearly. He rarely had to. That’s what Dr. Jackson was for. “The Goa'uld adopted the mythology of the native peoples of this planet and adapted it to their own ends. She was Hathor, but she was not the origin of Hathor, if that makes any sense.”

“It does,” she said. “So, how is she relevant to Daniel?”

Hammond grimaced. This was not one of his favorite memories. “She came here about three years ago . . . she’d been entombed in South America, but archeologists digging there set her free by accident. She said she could sense the gate’s presence and it drew her here.” He took a deep breath. “I think perhaps you should read the reports on that incident.”

“I will, but could you give me a little something to go on? He mentioned her, and if he calls me this evening to talk, I’d like to have some background.”

He nodded, comprehending her need. “Dr. Jackson was particularly singled out by her, as was Colonel O'Neill.” He pursed his lips. “She . . . used Dr. Jackson sexually, but she had this pheromone that enabled her to control all the men on the base except Teal'c. He couldn’t have stopped her. I . . . none of us could. Major Carter and Dr. Fraiser are the only reason she didn’t succeed in any of her plans.”

“I see,” Lisle said, and he could see that she’d picked up on the significance of his slip of the tongue. “So that’s Hathor. What about –”

“Not quite,” Hammond said. “She captured them again eight months ago, Major Carter, Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. She didn’t have them for long, but five minutes would be enough to reawaken a trauma like that.”

“I can see that. Anything else about her?” she asked. He shook his head. “All right, then what is Hadante?”

Hammond tilted his head in surprise. “Hadante? Why . . . I suppose Linea could come up . . .”

“I don’t know who Linea is,” Harry said.

“Oh.” He shook his head. “Hadante is a prison planet that they were sent to by some very narrow minded planetary officials who dumped all their criminals on a one way trip through the stargate.”

“A prison planet,” she repeated incredulously. Taking a deep breath, she shrugged. “This is a very weird situation. So, regardless, are you aware of Dr. Jackson having been sexually assaulted on this prison planet?”

Hammond shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I don’t recall anything of that nature in any of their reports. He was nearly killed by one of the prisoners, but the attack wasn’t sexual in nature.”

She sat back thoughtfully. “No, the way he mentioned it there was clearly a sexual component to whatever he was talking about. Maybe he didn’t tell anyone.”

“I doubt that,” Hammond said, though privately he wondered. Would the boy have kept something like that to himself if he could?

“Perhaps you could ask one of the others if anything odd happened there, if he was out of sight for any time, that kind of thing.”

“Of course.” Not Jack, he thought. Major Carter or Teal'c, though, they were upset but less totally undone by this whole affair. “Anything else?”

Harry sighed. Scowling thoughtfully, she said, “Does he really not know . . . I mean . . . well, my daughter would say he’s ‘yummy with a spoon.’ Is he truly unaware of this fact?”

Hammond blinked. “That’s a unique expression. Um . . . yes, he’s completely unaware. I know that people have tried to explain it to him, but he’s got some personal blind spots and that’s one of them.”

“And his blinding charisma?” she asked.

He nodded. “That’s another one. A big one. He asked me yesterday what people like Calder see in him. I don’t know how or even whether to tell him that he practically glows with innocent enthusiasm. There are always people who see that as a . . . as something to be crushed.”

“Or possessed,” Harry said. She stood up. “I don’t think I want to see Colonel O'Neill until I’ve got some more background. If you could write a note or something to your records staff so I can grab a few files . . . I’ll stay on base tonight if you’d rather I didn’t take them home.”

“That might be better,” Hammond agreed. He jotted a quick note to the records staff asking them to give Dr. Lisle the files she wanted, and directing them to provide her immediately with all files concerning the encounters with Hathor and Linea, together with anything in reference to Hadante that might not be included. “There,” he said, handing it to her. “If you have any troubles at all with them, I want you to inform me immediately. They have been known to be less than helpful with civilians.”

She took the note and gazed at him silently for a moment. “This bias against civilians, would it happen to include Dr. Jackson?”

Hammond’s lips tightened and he nodded. “We are in the process of sorting that out. An assistant is being assigned to help facilitate record transfers.”

“I see.” She sighed and looked down at the note in her hands. “Thank you, general. I can see I’ve got my work cut out for me.” She left pensively and Hammond sat silently for several moments after she left.

He stood up and walked out of the office. He’d better let Colonel O'Neill know that Dr. Lisle wasn’t going to see him today. When he reached the colonel’s room in the infirmary, he found both Major Carter and Teal'c with him.. Their conversation, predictably enough, concerned what each of them should have done differently.

He walked in and they all fell silent. “Would it help if I forbade you all to talk about this for a week?” he asked. Major Carter flushed, Colonel O'Neill pursed his lips irritably, but Teal'c just looked mildly perplexed. “I have a question I need to ask,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “And I don’t want you to discuss this question or your answers with Dr. Jackson.” This brought them all to worried attention.

Major Carter leaned forward. “What is it, sir?”

“You all recall the time you spent on Hadante,” he said, and though it hadn’t really been a question, he got nods from all of them. “Does any of you have reason to believe that Dr. Jackson suffered any kind of sexual assault there?”

Carter and O'Neill both shook their heads, but Teal'c said, “Indeed, he did, General Hammond.”

Colonel O'Neill’s jaw dropped and he turned to glare at Teal'c. “He what?”

Major Carter blinked. “But . . . Teal’c . . .” She shook her head, looking hurt and betrayed. [check]

“One of the inmates made a vigorous sexual advance upon DanielJackson against his will,” Teal'c said.

“That’s not in your report, is it?” Hammond asked, holding up a hand to forestall O'Neill’s angry questions.

“I do not believe I specified that it was sexual, but I did mention the incident.” He looked around, seeming to be taken aback by Carter’s shock and O'Neill’s fuming rage. “I do not . . . it did not seem that DanielJackson wished it to be known, and as I stopped it before anything of a serious nature occurred –”

“Define ‘anything of a serious nature,’” Colonel O'Neill ordered, his voice hard.

“There was no –”

“I don’t want to know what didn’t happen, I want to know what did happen,” O'Neill growled.

Teal'c took a deep breath. “I was about ten feet off, asking someone about sources of power, and DanielJackson was doing the same when the man he was speaking to shoved him into an alcove in the wall and attempted to force sexual intercourse.”

“I warned him,” Jack said, sounding incredibly frustrated. “I told him it wasn’t safe – you knew it wasn’t safe – how far did it go?”

“Nothing further than bruising contact, O'Neill,” Teal'c said. “There was no ‘exchange of fluids,’ as Dr. Fraiser would describe it. His clothing was not removed or even very disarranged. I dealt with the offender and we returned to you.”

Hammond grimaced. “Is that all?”

“Isn’t it enough?” O'Neill demanded. He turned to Teal'c. “Never ever keep something like that from me. If any of you is attacked in any way, I want to know the details, damn it! You understand me?”

“I do,” Teal'c said, very subdued.

“Was there anything else you failed to mention about that mission, or any other?”

“No,” Teal'c said. “There was not.”

“Good.”

Hammond cleared his throat. “Colonel, I also wanted to let you know that Dr. Lisle wishes to read more of the mission reports and get a better feel for the background before she sees you.”

“So no appointment for me today?” O'Neill asked.

“No.”

“When does Daniel finish his appointment?”

Hammond blinked. “He’s been done for some time,” he said. “Hasn’t he been down here?”

“No sir,” Carter said.

“Then where did he go?” Hammond asked.

“I’ll bet I know,” Carter said with a grimace. “I’ll go find him.”

Hammond watched her go and then turned to Teal'c. “Did you see everything that happened between Dr. Jackson and this man who assaulted him? You said they were in an alcove.”

“Not everything, but DanielJackson told me what happened, and I do not believe he concealed anything from me.”

“Right, because Daniel never lies to make people feel better,” O'Neill said sarcastically.

“I do not believe he deceived me in this,” Teal'c reiterated. “He told me that the man touched him in his groin area and on his buttocks, and that he nuzzled his neck. I saw the bruises later, when we bathed.”

O'Neill seemed to swell. “If you ever pull something like this again, Teal'c, I will kill you!” he snarled. “He was groped, with bruises, and you never said anything?!”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Hammond said, and Teal'c shot him a betrayed look. Hammond left and made his way to Dr. Lisle’s office. The door was slightly open and she was at her desk, reading a file. He tapped on the door and she looked up.

“Hathor was a bitch,” she said, and Hammond blinked.

“Yes, that’s true,” he replied. “I thought you might want the answer to your question.”

“About Hadante?” she asked. He nodded. “Come in and shut the door.”

After doing that, he sat down in one of her comfortable chairs. “According to Teal'c, Dr. Jackson was sexually assaulted in a minor way. There was groping and some violence, but it was stopped well before it could go any further.” She nodded slowly and took some notes. “Oh, and the only one who was aware of it was Teal'c, who told no one because he didn’t think Dr. Jackson wanted anyone to know.”

She sighed and looked down at her report. “His report on Hathor is heartbreakingly concise and spare, but gives very little insight into his reactions. Fortunately, I’m getting a bit more detail out of Captain Carter’s.”

“Right.” He stood up. “Thank you for coming,” he said. “This won’t be the easiest of jobs, but we really need someone like you.”

“I’ll do my best,” she replied. Hammond left with the feeling that his people were in capable hands.

* * *

Daniel finally put thoughts of Calder firmly out of his mind. The stack of files on his desk helped. The sheer size of the stack was daunting and made him suspect that Cameron had been offworld frequently while Daniel was gone, that Robert was still not feeling up to snuff, and that Nyan had not yet overcome his diffidence sufficiently to take initiative.

He stood up and began to sort them into piles, reflecting that it was a good thing that Jack couldn’t see it or he’d have an apoplexy. While he worked, he turned on his computer to see what e-mails he might have gotten while he was gone and now that he was back. He continued sorting as the computer got itself connected to the network. He shook his head in frustration. The stack of ‘God only knew _who_ needed it’ was growing higher and higher.

The computer chimed to let him know he had mail, and he walked over to assess the damage. The pattern was much what he’d expected. A heavy concentration of e-mails toward the beginning of his absence petered out as the days and weeks passed, then a sudden inflow in the last couple of days since their return. He scanned the subject lines and amid the variations on ‘welcome home’ and ‘hope you’re doing okay’ there was one that read simply, ‘Missing Files’ from Major Tolliver. Daniel opened it and read through it quickly, sinking down into his chair as he did.

After a terse and unconvincing statement about being glad that Daniel was back and unhurt, Tolliver launched into a tirade regarding five files that had gone missing during Daniel’s absence. Somehow, despite the fact that Daniel was off being held prisoner on an alien planet during the operative time period, phrases like ‘poorly trained staff’ and ‘improper procedures’ contrived to make it his fault. Tolliver’s grievance seemed to be that Daniel’s staff had taken files from the records room without logging them out, and he managed to infer from those five files a massive problem that was going to have to be dealt with.

Daniel shook his head wearily. One of the files on the list was sitting on his desk now, on the ‘who needs it’ pile, directed to linguistics, and the transfer sheet was written by Tolliver’s chief assistant. He contemplated the screen without pleasure or any jot of motivation. Theoretically, problems like this would stop once Tony started. Rousing himself from his lethargy, Daniel printed the e-mail and clipped it to the file to show Tony what he was up against. Hopefully the young man had whatever it took to get Tolliver to behave himself. Right now, though, it wasn’t worth it for Daniel to make a fuss. Not to Daniel at any rate. Jack would probably be foaming at the mouth.

He started sorting again, and in the process found two of the remaining four files from Tolliver’s list, and one of the forms was signed by Tolliver himself. Admittedly, it was dated three weeks ago, but it proved that the problem wasn’t at this end, or at least not solely at this end. He put those three files in a pile all to themselves to show Tony later, when he started. He was just labeling the piles preparatory to calling his colleagues to come fetch them when he heard a familiar clearing of the throat behind him.

Generally that sound was made to alert him to the fact that he was saying the wrong thing to Jack, or to catch his attention when Jack had spoken and Daniel had been too wrapped up in something to hear. He turned around to find Sam in the doorway to his office, looking in shock at the piles and piles of files.

“What is all this?” she asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Worse than usual,” he said, “but no real surprise.”

“Daniel!” she said. “You’re kidding. It’s like this every time?”

“No, it’s usually less,” Daniel replied, leaning back against his desk and changing the subject firmly. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since you helped retrieve me during my breakdown.” He said it lightly, but he was all too aware of what such a breakdown could look like to the military.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m more worried about you. Why’d you come up here after your appointment was over instead of joining us in the colonel’s room?”

Daniel turned away as thoughts of Calder rushed back into his mind. “I just needed to be alone,” he said, writing Nyan’s name on a sheet of paper and dropping it onto the pile that was for him.

“We’re your friends, Daniel,” she said softly, coming up and putting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re here to help.”

“I know that,” Daniel said. He sighed and turned to meet her worried eyes. “The trouble is that all three of you radiate guilt every time you see me, and it really doesn’t help.”

“Oh.” Sam seemed to have no further response, she just got that distant look that told him she was processing hard.

He shrugged again. “I understand Jack’s guilt, but I don’t really understand yours or Teal'c’s. Neither of you was ever in a position to stop what happened to me.”

She sighed and shrugged unhappily, her hand dropping to her side. “I guess it’s not really about what we could have done to stop it,” she said slowly. “It’s about us getting off so much lighter than you did.”

“Lighter?” Daniel exclaimed. “You were slaves, working in a dismal pit, eating vitamin fortified gruel.” He snorted without humor. “And not getting any bread in your case. How is that lighter?”

She stared at him. “Daniel, you . . . sometimes you astonish me.” He turned away, but she grabbed his arm. “Daniel, what happened to you was deliberately, maliciously done. I was given random memories and a job, and as Thera I didn’t know there was anything different. What he did to you . . . telling you about us and what was happening to us, hurting you on purpose, it’s a lot different.”

Daniel moved away, sitting down at his desk. “Harry says he’s a sadist,” he said.

Sam blinked at him, pulling up another chair. “Duh,” she said.

Daniel gave her a rueful grin and shrugged. “I wonder if he would have made it all the way up to serial killer, though I suppose in that society it’s a little different. He probably could have killed me and no one would have batted an eye.”

“Daniel . . .” Sam said uneasily, but he was caught by the train of thought.

“Does it count if you kill personal property?” he asked. “Are you still a serial killer if you kill your own slaves?”

“Yeah!” Sam said firmly. “In my opinion.” She shook her head. “Daniel, you shouldn’t be thinking like this.”

“It beats trying to figure out what part of my personality calls to the serial killer in people,” he blurted, then bit his lip, wishing he hadn’t said that.

“The same part that calls to the goodness and courage in decent people,” Sam exclaimed instantly, looking appalled. Daniel blinked at her. “God, Daniel, you haven’t been thinking there’s something wrong with you, have you?” His silence told her the answer to her question and she stood up and pulled him to his feet. He let her, and when they were both standing she wrapped her arms around him in a sisterly hug. “Daniel, you are the best, the bravest, the kindest man I know.” He returned the embrace, resting his forehead on the top of her head. She pulled away after a moment and looked earnestly into his eyes. “And you’re the only man I know who combines all those qualities in equal measure.”

“Sam, you don’t have to –”

She grabbed his shoulders and glared at him. “You’re right, I don’t have to. But it’s the truth, the honest-to-God truth, Daniel. Look into my eyes and see that.”

He did, and tears sprang to his eyes as he read the sincerity there. He pulled her into a tight hug and strove to control his tears.

“Let it go, Daniel,” she said in his ear. “Don’t hold back.”

Her insistence broke through his control and he began to weep.


	28. Chapter 28

Tony walked into the records room to find that a sweet grandmotherly lady had beaten him to the counter. He stood back to wait, his requisition form in his hand. The clerk delivered her a pile of files and as she began to go through them, the clerk beckoned Tony forward. He handed over his requisition form and the files he was returning and the clerk disappeared. Major Tolliver was sitting at his desk doing some kind of computer work.

After several moments, the lady next to Tony cleared her throat. “Major Tolliver, I’d like ask you a question,” she said, her voice extremely polite. Tony’d heard that tone of voice before, from his grandmother and all of his aunts, and it boded ill for whomever it was directed towards.

“Of course, ma’am,” the major said, standing up and walking over to the counter with an insincere smile that said more clearly than his bored voice that he thought she was wasting his time.

“Did I fail make it clear that I only want files that pertain to Dr. Jackson’s encounters with people?” the lady asked.

“No, Dr. Lisle, you made that perfectly clear, but you’ve got to understand that this is a busy department, and we don’t have time to –”

“To correctly fill the requisitions you receive? To properly catalog and index your files? What is it you don’t have time for?”

“Ma’am, our files are indexed and cataloged,” Tolliver said with a very slight edge to his voice. Tony shrank backwards a bit to get out of the line of fire.

“Then it should be no trouble to get me the files I have requested,” she replied primly.

“You haven’t requested specific files, ma’am, this is a very general request.”

She looked down at her requisition form and turned it back so that it was right side up to her. “And yet you have failed to fill this ‘general’ request for missions during which intelligent peoples were contacted,” she said, pushing the pile of files back across the counter to him. “I am no stranger to records rooms, young man, and have dealt successfully with the keepers of considerably larger collections than this one in the past, at universities and teaching hospitals. I fail to understand what the trouble is in filling my perfectly reasonable request.” Tolliver seemed not to know what to say. Dr. Lisle flipped her form around again and pushed it towards him. “Please do so now.”

Left without any grounds for further objection, Major Tolliver picked up the stack of files and the requisition form and went into the stacks. Dr. Lisle looked at her watch and sighed. Tony cleared his throat and gave her a shy smile when she turned. “May I introduce myself?” he asked.

“Certainly, lieutenant,” she said crisply, but her eyes were provisionally friendly.

“I’m Tony Sciaparelli. When things settle down from the current excitement, I’ll be Dr. Jackson’s assistant.”

Her eyebrows raised, and her eyes grew a deal warmer. “I’m Dr. Harriet Lisle, but everyone calls me Harry. I’ve just joined the medical staff. My specialty is psychiatry.”

“I see,” Tony said, and he did. He suspected that Dr. Jackson badly needed someone to talk to just now, someone who didn’t wear epaulettes on her shoulders. “I’m reading through some of Dr. Jackson’s missions, but I’ll stick to ones where there are just plants and animals if that makes it easier for you.”

“I’m not sure we should risk confusing them further,” Dr. Lisle said with a dry look towards the stacks. “I’ll let you know if you have anything I need.”

“Okay,” he said. The sergeant came out with the file Tony had requested and Tony signed for it. The sergeant kept throwing worried glances at Dr. Lisle, like he was afraid she’d eat him. Tony nodded to the both of them and left, returning to his task of helping the refugees sort themselves out

He walked into the large room the refugees were using as a central meeting space. He put his files down on his desk and contemplated the people gathered there. They all seemed very restless, and from the interviews he’d taken he knew why. Not one of them had ever had this much down time in their entire lives. All they knew was work, and they didn’t know how to handle not working. The government had provided puzzles and games, but it had been a bit of a struggle teaching them what to do with them.

He picked up his clipboard and reviewed today’s interview schedule, but before he could do more than glance at it, a young woman walked up. “Excuse me,” she said, and he turned to her with a smile. She looked up at him with thinly veiled hostility. “I have a question.”

“I’ll try to answer it if I can,” Tony said carefully.

“You’d better be able to answer it,” she said harshly. “I know other people are getting worried about this, too, and things are so strange here that it’s freaking them out.” He glanced around and saw that quite a few people were watching them anxiously.

“I will try, I promise. What’s your name?”

“Kegan,” she said. “And you are?”

“Tony,” he replied. He’d learned that a single name worked better with these people than trying to use his rank.

Kegan accepted his name with a nod. “We want to know what happened to Carlin and the others,” she said. “I know that’s not his name, but I’m not absolutely sure what his real name is.”

Tony blinked. “Um . . . Carlin . . . that would be Daniel Jackson. He’s here on base, and he’s fine,” he said.   “I saw him the day before yesterday.”

This calm answer seemed to nonplus her, but she didn’t give up. “Why haven’t we seen them? Why haven’t we seen the sun? He said that there wasn’t an ice age here, but we’re still underground.”

Tony took a deep breath. “The people on this planet don’t know about the stargate,” he said. “They don’t know that people live on other planets, so it’s not possible for us to let you up on the surface. We are going to find you a planet to live on as soon as possible, but we want to be sure you’ll be safe and supported there.”

She grimaced and looked dissatisfied. “I want to see Carlin. Daniel.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Tony said.

“What about Jonah?” A large man had drifted close and he spoke up suddenly. “Did he live? He lost a lot of blood, but they seemed to think he’d be okay.”

“Jonah is Colonel Jack O'Neill. He’s fine, recovering. I guess the bullet didn’t hit anything major.”

“Please,” Kegan said. “See if Daniel will come.”

“I will. Now if you could just go back to what you were doing.”

“I was doing nothing!” Kegan said. “There’s nothing to do.” She wandered off, though, and so did the man. Tony walked over to his desk and sat down. After a moment’s thought, he called the general. It seemed like a question only he could answer. Should Dr. Jackson come here or not?

“Lt. Sciaparelli, how is it going with the refugees?”

“Complicated, sir,” Tony said. “They’re used to being very active, so the lack of tasks is grating on them.”

“I know, and I wish there was something I could do.”

“I’ve had a specific request, though, sir, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it.”

“Yes?”

“They haven’t seen SG-1 since they got here, and I think they’re all a little worried that something’s wrong, that they’re hurt or that things aren’t what they were supposed to be. A woman called Kegan wants to see Dr. Jackson.”

“Oh, I see.” Hammond was silent a moment. “I can see where they might think that. I’ll give Dr. Jackson a call and see if he’s ready for that.”

Tony hung up and called for his first interview of the afternoon. He was in the middle of his list of questions when Dr. Jackson walked in followed by a blond woman.

Everyone in the room was immediately standing and moving towards them, but Kegan got to Dr. Jackson first, and the archeologist greeted her with a hug. After that there was a lot of talking from everyone, and a lot of babbling. Finally, Dr. Jackson raised a hand and they all quieted down. “Okay, you’ve all got questions, and trying to answer you all individually isn’t working because everyone’s talking at once. Let’s try this one at a time, because a lot of you probably have the same questions.”

Between them, the woman, who Tony guessed must be Major Carter, and Dr. Jackson got the group settled down and they started answering questions. Tony watched with fascination.

“Where is Tor?” asked someone.

“He’s with Jack, that’s Jonah, who is still stuck in bed and getting rather grumpy about it.” Several people laughed at that frank statement and the uneasiness started to abate as questions were asked and answered. Dr. Jackson was good with people, that was evident, and they trusted him and Major Carter.

Once the serious questions were out of the way, a woman named Mevor leaned toward Dr. Jackson and said, “It’s clear that Thera – I mean, Sam – is some kind of an engineer, but what do you do?”

“It can’t be anything to do with machines,” Kegan said, and Dr. Jackson laughed.

“I’m a scholar,” Dr. Jackson said. “I study how people interact and how language works.”

“That’s a job?”

“A very necessary one,” Major Carter said. “He’s a linguist, a historian, an anthropologist, an archeologist –”

“Sam, they don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dr. Jackson said. “I study language, I study culture. My job here, when we visit new planets, is to figure out how to interact with the local population.” He shrugged. “It’s a living.”

“What are we going to do?” asked a man whose name Tony hadn’t caught yet. “I mean, once you folks have found us someplace to live.”

“That depends on where we find you a place to live,” Dr. Jackson said. “I’m not in the loop on that, but I’ll see what I can find out.”

“What happened to that man, the one who shot Brenna?” asked a young woman named Reva.

Dr. Jackson blanched and Major Carter shot a worried glance at him as she answered the question. “He’s being held in a cell on base pending a decision about what’s to be done with him.”

“Find a deep dark place where he can work the rest of his life away,” Kegan said bitterly, and there were shouts of agreement.

Dr. Jackson got to his feet. “I’m . . . I’ve got work I have to do,” he said. “I’m sorry. Sam, stay and talk, okay?”

“Sure Daniel,” Carter said, and Dr. Jackson left.

Mevor cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. “That Calder . . . he’s the one who hurt him before he came down below, isn’t he?”

Tony wasn’t sure what to expect, but Major Carter nodded. “Yeah, it was him.”

“I’m sorry,” Reva said, looking stricken. “I didn’t mean to upset him.”

“Yeah, well, you did,” Kegan said bitterly.

Major Carter intervened before anyone else could. “She couldn’t have known, Kegan,” she said. “How are you all holding up? This must be very stressful.”

“It is,” Mevor said quickly, and Tony watched Kegan. Her lips tightened and she dropped to the back of the group.

After a moment of watching, Tony stood up and walked over to her. “Kegan?” he said hesitantly. She turned to him, eyes dark with unhappy confusion. “Why don’t you come over here and answer my questions. I don’t think Thomen’s coming back for a while, and I can see you’re not enjoying this.”

Wordlessly, she nodded and followed him to his desk, which was a ways away from the gathering. Major Carter noticed, but she didn’t draw attention to them, and since his desk was at the back of the group, few of her compatriots were aware of her defection.

“She thinks she’s so good,” Kegan said, glaring at Major Carter. “So smart and better than the rest of us.”

“I’ve never met her,” Tony said truthfully. “But I’m sure she’s really nice once you get to know her.”

“Why do you think so?” Kegan asked, turning her glare on him.

“Well, for one thing, Daniel likes her,” he said, and Kegan’s brows drew together. “And even if I haven’t met her, I’ve read a lot about her.”

“I wish Reva hadn’t said that stupid thing,” Kegan said. “I wanted to see him, not her.”

“Did you get to know him well when he was down in the plant?” Tony asked.

She nodded. “I trained him. We were friends until his memories started coming back. Then he . . . I guess I . . .” She shrugged. “Things changed.”

“That happens sometimes,” Tony said. “But I’m certain he still cares about you.” She looked up at him curiously. “He hugged you, for one thing. I didn’t see him hug anyone else.” She nodded thoughtfully. “And he’s that type. He cares about people, and once he’s started, he doesn’t stop.”

“He’s known her longer,” Kegan said, looking back over at Major Carter.

“True,” Tony said. “But that doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like he has to choose, right?” Her eyes widened and he realized that he’d unknowingly hit a nerve. “Anyway, I’ve got to ask you a bunch of questions about your life. Let me know if it gets too personal.”

She nodded and they started to work.

* * *

Jack was going nuts. Carter left with the clear indication that she was going to check on Daniel. Then he didn’t hear anything for hours. He didn’t have any way to go looking since, even though Fraiser was now letting him up, she wasn’t letting him wander yet. “Teal'c, go find him,” Jack said when calls to both their labs proved fruitless.

“I do not wish to leave you alone, O'Neill.”

“I know you don’t, but I need to know where Daniel is and how he is. I can’t believe Carter didn’t call us.”

“O'Neill, DanielJackson must be fine or she would have called us,” Teal'c said, but Jack wasn’t satisfied. He started pacing. “O'Neill, you must sit down. Dr. Fraiser said you could get up, but she specified light activity, especially this first day.”

“I’ll sit down if and when you go find Daniel.”

“Then sit down,” said a familiar voice from the hallway. Daniel appeared in the doorway looking mordant and tired. “What are you all agitated for?”

“I didn’t know where you were,” Jack said, and it suddenly sounded pretty lame. Daniel smiled, though, and even if it was a sad smile, full of pain, it was still a smile.

“Did Major Carter find you?” Teal'c asked.

“She did,” Daniel said. “And she helped me some. I think. Maybe.” He sighed. “Not sure whether her remedy was a cure or a Band-Aid, and only time will tell for sure, unfortunately.”

His eyes were just slightly red, and Jack could tell he’d been crying within the recent past. He wanted to take Daniel in his arms, he wanted to kiss him and tell him the pain would go away. He wanted to hold him and cuddle him close in ways that were not acceptable on base, and that he probably wouldn’t want anyway. Daniel’s eyes met his and his feelings must have been displayed nakedly on his face, because Daniel’s expression warmed briefly.

“You said you would sit down if we found DanielJackson, O'Neill,” Teal'c said abruptly. “He is found, yet you are not sitting.”

Jack let them hustle him into a seat and get him things to drink. He was feeling more than a little off balance, and he wanted to go home. He looked up at Daniel. “I want to go home,” he said.

“I know, me too,” Daniel said. “Maybe tomorrow, but I’m still going to have to come in.”

“Why?”

“Work,” Daniel said. “And there are the workers, Kegan and the rest?”

“How are they?” Jack asked. “Have you seen anyone?”

“Just now,” Daniel replied, then he flushed, looking uncomfortable. “I . . . I left Sam with them. “ He grimaced. “One of them . . . I mean . . . they all know . . . what happened . . .” Jack nodded his complete understanding and Daniel stopped fumbling for words. With a shrug, he said, “How could they not?”

Jack sympathized. When he’d arrived down in the plant, he’d been covered with bites neck to toes, and he’d had lots of very suggestive bruises, so no one could possibly have missed the substance of what had been done to him. “Did someone say something?” he asked.

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out, calming himself. “Reva asked where Calder was, and I freaked a little.” He shrugged uneasily. “I left.”

“Did you do anything embarrassing?” Jack asked, a little worried on his friend’s behalf.

“No, I just left. But Kegan’s probably upset now, and she’s . . .”

“She’s none too stable,” Jack observed.

“That’s not fair,” Daniel protested.

“It is, however, true, DanielJackson,” Teal'c said.

“She’s not unstable,” Daniel said. “I don’t know –” He shook his head. “She’s just unhappy, and she doesn’t know how to handle that. Their lives down there don’t allow them to handle things. Problems arise, and there’s a stamp. They don’t learn to adjust their thinking, it’s adjusted for them.”

“That’s true,” Jack said. “I hadn’t considered it that way.”

“You didn’t spend time going from group to group, trying to figure out if anyone else had more memories than we did,” Daniel said. “I did. That’s part of what led me to the conclusion that our heads had been messed with.” He shook his head. “Kegan actually told me a story about a guy who went night sick and tried to break the skylight. Why do you suppose he did a thing like that?”

Jack blinked. “I wonder,” he said sarcastically.

“It was most disturbing,” Teal'c said thoughtfully, and Jack turned to him. “I slowly began to realize that something was wrong. It got worse after DanielJackson came down. When I saw you attack him, I knew that it was wrong. It could not happen.”

“And I thought you were wacked,” Jack said frankly. “I really believed it all.” Even the stuff about being hot for Carter, which he was still finding disturbing because it hadn’t entirely gone away.

“I did too, at first,” Daniel said. “But you know me. Question everything, and if you think you might have missed something, it never hurts to question it twice.”

“True enough,” Jack said with a grin. “I’m just glad we had the two of you there. Carter and I might never have worked it out on our own.”

“Whatever happened to Brenna, I wonder? She wasn’t with the others.”

“They tried to put her with the others,” Teal'c said. “But I do not believe . . . I believe it went badly.”

“Why?” Daniel asked.

“Daniel,” Jack said, and when the archeologist turned to him, it was clear that he really didn’t have any idea. “She was in charge. They probably think she was in on it, and . . . go figure . . . she was.”

Daniel leaned forward earnestly. “She was a victim, too, though,” he said. “And she tried to help us.” Daniel turned to Teal'c. “Where is she?”

“I do not know for certain,” Teal'c said. “Perhaps I can find out.”

* * *

Brenna stared at the food on her plate. It was ironic. Now, when she finally had as much of the good food she’d always wanted as she could eat, she’d lost her appetite. She pushed the plate away and sighed. Her people were right. She was no better than a collaborator. She’d helped to keep them in slavery rather than trying to help them. She was as bad as Administrator Calder.

Remembering the way Daniel Jackson’s body had looked when he’d come down to her, she shuddered. Maybe not as bad, but bad enough. She thumped her forehead down onto one hand. It felt strange not to be able to use both. The medicine that Dr. Fraiser gave her dealt with the pain, but she wasn’t supposed to use her arm or her hand. She wasn’t used to dealing with injuries, which only made her feel worse. She was the one who remained whole and healthy while others did the dangerous work that got them hurt and killed.

Why had it had taken her so long to truly see that the strangers needed her help? Especially once Dr. Jackson had arrived. With mute evidence before her that the people above were cruel and not worthy of the service the workers were providing, she had simply put Dr. Jackson in with the others, perhaps not without a second thought, but without really considering what it meant. Of course, at that time she hadn’t believed it was Administrator Calder who had hurt him, but nevertheless, it should have been an alert to her that things weren’t as they should be.

This room was larger than her apartment in the plant had been, and she had it to herself. The colors were vibrant and beautiful. She’d never seen anything quite like it. Even the rooms she’d seen above had not been this colorful. The reds and blues of the bedspread were so rich, the bed was so soft, she didn’t deserve it. She didn’t deserve any of it.

There was a knock at the door. She got to her feet and went over to open it. Major Carter stood outside holding a brightly colored box. “Hi, how’re you feeling?” she said.

Brenna stepped backwards to let her in. “I . . . fine, I guess. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I just thought I’d come by.” She walked over to the table and put the box down. It was only about an inch thick. Major Carter looked down at the plate. “If you don’t like tuna stroganoff, all you have to do is tell the people who bring your food that you want something else.”

“It’s not . . .” Brenna shook her head. “The food’s fine. I’m just not very hungry.”

Major Carter gazed at her for a moment, then came over to her side. Putting an arm around Brenna’s shoulders, the earth woman guided her to the long padded seat she called a couch. “What’s up?” she asked, sitting down.

“I don’t understand the question,” Brenna said, sinking down uneasily.

Major Carter smiled. “Sorry. I meant ‘what’s wrong?’ You seem depressed.”

Brenna shook her head. “I am happy to be away from the plant,” she said, trying to make it sound convincing. “And this is a beautiful place. I am happy.”

There was a pause, and then major Carter said, “Then why don’t I believe you?”

“I don’t know,” Brenna said. She stood up and walked over to the table. “You brought something. What is this?” The box was long, narrow, and not very thick. Major Carter came to join her as she opened it. There was a flat brown object that seemed to fill the top of the box. Brenna pulled it out. It appeared to be some kind of solid substance, folded over in half so that it would fit in the narrow box. She put it out flat on the table and looked at it. Strange symbols marked its surface, square boxes leading in a curlicue path around the edge. Underneath this in the box were small pieces of thick paper bound with some sort of elastic substance, and a small clear bag full of little tokens, six bright colors all the same shape, and one that was a white cube with black spots on the sides.

“It’s a game,” Major Carter said. “It’s called Candyland, and it’s designed for preschoolers.” Brenna raised her eyebrows. “Children who aren’t old enough to read. I figured it would be easier to play than something that had a lot of writing, like Monopoly.”

“A game,” Brenna said. “I have not played a game since I was very young.”

“I didn’t think you had,” Major Carter said with a smile. “I thought it might be fun.”

Brenna shook her head and walked away from the table. “I don’t think so. I don’t even know why you’re here.”

“Because I thought you needed company,” Major Carter said.

Taking a deep breath, Brenna turned around and lifted her chin. “I’m not worth your time, Major Carter,” she said. “I helped to imprison your people, I worked to enslave my own. I don’t deserve your concern.”

“That’s not true,” Major Carter said, walking across and holding her arms out as if to put her hands on Brenna’s shoulders. Brenna took a step back, and Major Carter stopped, dropping her arms. “Brenna, you tried to help us. You risked yourself to help us escape.”

“Too little, too late,” Brenna said. “I knew all along what the world above was like, and I did nothing.” Her eyes began to sting and she controlled herself with an act of will. “No, not nothing. I did everything Administrator Calder told me to do.”

“You had no choice,” Major Carter said, her eyes wide and worried. “You couldn’t have done anything else without winding up just like the others. They would have stamped you and put you to work fixing pumps or cleaning out traps, or whatever.” She took another few steps toward Brenna and did grab her by the shoulders. “You couldn’t have stopped them,” she said firmly.

“I didn’t try,” Brenna said, and her voice gave evidence of her failing control over her emotions. “I knew what had been done to Dr. Jackson, and I said nothing. I asked nothing. I just stamped him and told him to forget it.”

“And if you had said something to Calder, what would he have done?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t try.” Brenna’s tears burst forth, but when Major Carter tried to pull her close, she jerked away. “I don’t deserve to be comforted,” she said. “I’m what they said I am. I’m a collaborator. I made the system work by making sure no one knew what was really going on.”

“Were you ever stamped?”

The question was snapped at her so fast that Brenna answered automatically, without stopping to think. “Of course.”

“How often?” Major Carter asked immediately.

“I have no idea. They wouldn’t have told me.”

“You wouldn’t just know?”

“The stamp ensures that you don’t,” Brenna replied. “Why are you asking?”

“Because that’s your answer. You were brainwashed to go along with it. You were stamped with the imprint of someone who would keep the system moving.” Brenna stared at her, jaw dropping. “You were just as much of a victim as the others, Brenna. The only difference is that they made you an accomplice in your own enslavement.”

“But that’s – I don’t –” Brenna shook her head, the tears coming hotter now, and sobs in her chest choking her words. “It’s not – it is my fault! It’s all my fault!”

“It’s not,” Major Carter said, firmly putting her arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. “You were used, and when things went too far, you broke free. You are a good person, Brenna, you are.”

Brenna shook her head, but Major Carter wouldn’t let up. She just kept saying that, and things like it, till Brenna calmed down. Eventually they were sitting side by side on the couch. “Major Carter, do you really believe what you said?”

The other woman took Brenna’s hand. “I do, and call me Sam. It’s what my friends call me.”

“Are we friends?” Brenna asked.

“Yes, I think we are.” Sam smiled. “I think this moment calls for hot chocolate, and I happen to know a way to get some.” She reached over and picked up the communication device. Brenna couldn’t remember what they called it. After a few seconds, she spoke to someone. Brenna didn’t listen. She just leaned her head against the back of the couch.

When Sam was done, Brenna said, “So you don’t mind that I refused your ideas to improve the plant?”

“Wasn’t that Calder?” Sam asked. Brenna nodded. “You thought they were good ideas, didn’t you?”

“I thought they were a chance for us to finally . . . I don’t know, change things.”

“I wish he’d seen them that way too,” Sam said. She paused, blinking. “Wait, no I don’t. I wish he was dead, and being eaten by maggots.”

Brenna liked the idea of Administrator Calder being dead, but . . . “What are maggots?”

Sam lifted her hand and held her fingers about a thumb’s breadth apart. “Little wormy things about this big.” Her eyes narrowed pensively. “Actually, I wish the maggots were eating him before he was dead.”

Brenna felt her eyes widen. “You’re vicious.”

Sam nodded once, sharply. “He hurt Daniel,” she said, as if that explained everything, and Brenna had gathered, from things she’d heard, that it did for a lot of people who lived here.

“He seems like a nice man,” she ventured, and Sam turned to look at her as if shocked. “Daniel, I mean,” she added, and Sam relaxed, her expression softening. “I haven’t seen him much, but in the plant he seemed to get on well with everyone.”

“Except the colonel and me,” Sam said. She seemed distressed by this fact.

“There were reasons for that,” Brenna replied. “And they weren’t his fault or yours.”

“What do you mean?” Sam asked, tilting her head curiously. There was a knock at the door, and Sam got up to get it. She brought in a tray with two steaming mugs on it, full of some brown liquid that smelled heavenly. “Hot chocolate,” she said in a voice that spoke volumes of pleasure.

Brenna took hers and sipped it carefully. It was quite hot, but it tasted as good as it smelled. She savored it for a moment, then took another sip.

“So, what are the reasons?” Sam asked.

“Administrator Calder ordered me to vary Colonel O'Neill’s stamp slightly,” Brenna said, growing slightly uncomfortable as she realized that she had told no one this. “You should know, because some effects of the stamp could linger. He . . . according to Administrator Calder, Colonel O'Neill had a strong attachment that might endanger his stamp. When that happens, we often provide a substitute attachment. When left to my own reasoning, I generally make it something that’s out of the person’s reach. A dead lover, something of that nature.”

“And on this occasion?” Sam asked, but Brenna could tell that she had suspicions.

“Administrator Calder ordered me to place an attachment to you in his stamp,” Brenna said, and watched the other woman’s face change, first shock, then understanding, then an odd sort of sadness. Neither of them spoke for a time.

“Why would he do something like that?” Sam asked after a thoughtful silence.

“Emotional attachments can be extremely strong, and if they overcome the stamp, it can cause serious problems for an entire workforce,” Brenna said. “And it was clear that Colonel O'Neill’s feelings were very strong indeed. Do you remember how you felt when you came out of the stamp?”

Sam’s eyes went distant, then she said, “Was that when you told me I’d gotten sick on the journey from the mines?”

Brenna nodded. “Do you remember how you felt?”

She looked distinctly uneasy, remembering. “It was weird, as if I had nothing, no connection to anything.” She shivered. “I didn’t like it.”

“That’s part of the effects of a deep stamp. It strips away your identity and makes you need one so badly that you’ll latch onto anything that’s offered.”

Sam stared at her, clearly deeply disturbed. “I remember.”

“Colonel O'Neill sat up instantly on awakening and demanded to see Thera.”

“Really?” Sam asked. “But . . . is that unusual?”

“In all my years working there, I’d never seen that before.” Brenna shook her head. “Administrator Calder was very strange. He called me to his office and asked me to take special care with the four of you, and he actually came to see Colonel O'Neill just before we stamped him. He seemed quite frightened of him, actually, despite the fact that he was unconscious.” She shrugged. “He’s also never given me specific orders about what to put in someone’s stamp before. I didn’t understand until I saw your Colonel O'Neill with Dr. Jackson, as themselves I mean, not as Carlin and Jonah.”

“I don’t understand,” Sam said, and Brenna was perplexed.

“Well, once I saw the attachment between Colonel O'Neill and Dr. Jackson, it was obvious.” She looked down at her hands. “I believe that’s what caused the conflict. Colonel O'Neill had to have been torn up inside, stamped to love you, but loving Dr. Jackson on a much deeper level.” She looked up to find Major Carter staring at her with wide eyes. “It makes it all much clearer,” Brenna said uncertainly, not sure what was disturbing her . . . her friend.

“Love?” Sam said, blinking very fast. “No, not . . . love is . . . it’s not . . .” She shook her head. “I mean, yes, they love each other. They’re good friends, but they don’t love each other.”

“I don’t understand,” Brenna said, utterly confused. “They love each other, but they don’t love each other.”

“No.” Sam shook her head. “I mean, they don’t love each other in a romantic . . . a sexual sense. They’re friends.”

Brenna knit her eyebrows. “They don’t?” she asked, and Sam’s eyes widened again. “Your pardon, have I said something wrong?”

“No,” Sam said instantly. “Or I mean yes, sort of, but no, not . . . you really think they’re in love?” She seemed oddly distressed by this notion.

Brenna chose her words carefully. “I am certain that Colonel O'Neill is in love with Dr. Jackson,” she said. “Or why would Administrator Calder insist on that stamp, and make it sexual in nature?” Sam listened, but she still looked very unhappy. “And further, the strength of the attachment can be gauged very simply.”

“How?”

“I transferred his focus from Dr. Jackson to you.”


	29. Chapter 29

Sam’s jaw dropped and she looked completely stunned. “I see,” she said weakly.

“What is the trouble? I had assumed that this was widely known here.”

“Oh no!” Sam said, and she leaned forward urgently. “Whether it’s true or not, it can’t be known. No one can know. Not even that you suspect it’s true.”

“Why not?”

“Relationships of that nature between two men are extremely taboo here,” Sam said, and Brenna stared at her.

“Why?”

Sam looked utterly flabbergasted. “I don’t know,” she said. “They just are. If you want an explanation of the cultural reasons, ask Daniel. I just know that our society isn’t perfect either, and anything like that would get the colonel kicked out of the military and Daniel beaten to a pulp by a bunch of jerks who would assume it was his fault.”

“But . . . why would they assume it was Dr. Jackson’s fault?”

“Because they wouldn’t want to think that a macho military guy like the colonel could turn gay without someone tricking them into it.”

“And that someone would be Dr. Jackson?”

“I didn’t say it made sense,” Sam said, sounding quite irritated. Brenna bit her lip and drew back. “No, I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I didn’t mean . . . I’m not mad at you. It’s a stupid system, but one we’re stuck with until things change, and they are changing, gradually.”

“I see,” Brenna said. “You are telling me that I should tell no one of this.”

“Definitely not,” Sam said. “In fact, I need to go have a chat with Siler as soon as possible,” she added, looking up at the ceiling. “Brenna, thank you for the information, and I don’t mean to rush off, but . . .” She gave Brenna a tight hug. “I will be back tomorrow, I promise, okay?”

“What about your game?” Brenna said as she started to leave.

“We’ll play tomorrow,” Sam replied and shut the door behind her. Brenna sat down, mulling over what she’d learned.

She had a friend, and no culture was perfect. And maybe she wasn’t as bad as she’d thought she was.

* * *

“Jim Oberon speaking.”

Hammond hadn’t expected him to answer this early in the morning. “Good morning, Mr. Oberon,” he said. “This is General Hammond.”

“General,” Oberon said, sounding startled. He went on, his tone growing sardonic. “Is the investigation complete? My mother said that the young men who visited her were very well mannered.”

“It is,” Hammond said. “I have your clearance in front of me.” Oberon made an impatient sound. “You were right,” Hammond said mildly. Your work with the Justice Department did speed things up some, but the levels are simply not comparable.”

“I see,” Oberon said. “All right, do I qualify?”

Hammond regarded the report in front of him. “Actually you do, and that puts you in an interesting position. I’d like to set up an appointment to speak with you.”

“All right, when?”

“Tomorrow evening, between six and eight, at the Air Force Academy.”

“Very well, which building?”

“They’ll let you know at the gate,” Hammond said.

“Fine. I’ll be there at seven.”

“Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow. Now, I’m sure we both have work to do.”

“Yes indeed.” There was a click on the line and Hammond hung up. That promised to be an interesting meeting.

“Sir?”

Hammond looked up to see Colonel O'Neill in the doorway. He had a sling supporting his arm and with the way he looked, Hammond was surprised that Dr. Fraiser had let him out of the infirmary. “Good morning, colonel. How are you feeling?”

“Like I could use a chair.” Hammond nodded towards the seat in front of his desk and O'Neill took it gratefully. “Other than that, I’m great. I have, in fact, been released to go home, so long as I come back for my doctor and shrink appointments.”

“Congratulations. Do you have an appointment for today?”

“Later on, after Daniel’s. When we’re done, he’s going to drive me back to my place and stay with me to help out.”

“Good,” the general said with a smile. “I don’t think he needs to be alone just yet.”

O'Neill shook his head. “Neither of us does, truthfully.” He fell silent for a moment, and Hammond began to wonder what had brought him. If it was another attempt to resign, he was prepared to read him the riot act. Finally, O'Neill cleared his throat. “I was wondering, sir, if you’d like to come to dinner tonight.”

“Tonight?” Hammond repeated. “I . . . I don’t –”

“I know it’s short notice, and I can’t promise the food will be anything special, but I’ve got some . . .” He paused, seeming irresolute. “I’d just like you to come over.”

Hammond nodded slowly. There was a look in O'Neill’s eyes that told him that there was more to this dinner invitation than simple friendship. O'Neill had something he wanted to discuss, and he didn’t feel comfortable talking about it on base. “Thank you, colonel. I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you, sir,” O'Neill said. “Come by around six. Now I’m going to go check my desk and see if there’s anything on it that I have to do myself before I foist the rest of it off on Feretti.”

“Good. You do that.”

O'Neill pried himself out of the chair and left. Hammond watched him go, wondering briefly what this private matter was. Then he returned to his work, hoping it was nothing too serious.

* * *

Jack puttered around the kitchen, getting everything ready for dinner. He’d ordered the best Chinese take-out in town, and Daniel had just left to pick it up. Hammond should be arriving any minute. Jack had timed things very carefully. Daniel should return with dinner at around seven, so that would give Jack a good hour to talk to Hammond alone.

There was a knock at the door and Jack went to answer it. After the greetings, Jack led the general to the living room and offered him a beer, which the general accepted. As he returned with two bottles, Hammond said, “So, where’s Dr. Jackson?”

“Daniel is getting dinner,” Jack said. “But what I need to talk to you about should be done before he gets back.” He handed Hammond his beer. “At least I hope so,” he added as he sat down.

“What is it, colonel?”

“For this conversation, I think we had better be Jack and George, if it’s all the same to you?” Jack said. He raised his eyebrows hopefully, and his superior officer gazed at him solemnly for a few seconds.

“Jack and George, huh?”

“If it’s not possible, then I understand, and we can put the news on and wait for the food.”

Hammond shook his head. “No, I think we can be Jack and George, if it’s important.”

“It is,” Jack said. He grimaced, looking down at his hands, then he put his beer, untasted, on the table. “See, I . . .” He took a deep breath. “Remember how I told you that Calder had gotten the impression that Daniel and I had a relationship?”

“Yes,” Hammond said, and his tone was almost painfully neutral.

“Well, there’s a reason he got that impression.” He looked up, and the extraordinary blank look in Hammond’s eyes made his mouth dry up. “Not that we’re having a relationship, we’re not. I mean . . . Daniel isn’t . . .” He swallowed.

“Calm down, son,” Hammond said, and Jack could finally read his expression. He looked worried but not condemning, which was a good sign. “Just tell me.”

“I . . . I’m in love with Daniel,” Jack said, and watched Hammond’s eyes widen. “Daniel doesn’t feel the same way, and I would never have told him but –”

Hammond was nodding, so Jack broke off. The general cleared his throat. “But you acted like a prize jerk until he told you he wanted a transfer, am I right?” Jack nodded weakly. “And that’s when you told him the truth?”

“I did. And I . . . I didn’t want to tell you because I knew it would place you in an untenable position, but after this last mission, when it’s abundantly clear that my feelings placed the team in jeopardy, I didn’t feel I could keep it from you any longer.”

“I can understand that,” Hammond said slowly. He shook his head. “Somehow, this wasn’t what I was expecting you to tell me this evening.”

“What were you expecting?” Jack asked.

“I didn’t know for certain, but this wouldn’t have made the list. How does Daniel feel about this?”

“He was extremely freaked at first, but he seems to have calmed down about it. I . . .” Jack shrugged. “Frankly, I expected him not to want me anywhere near him right after this whole Calder incident, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“So, have you always been gay?” Hammond asked.

Jack shook his head. “I’m not. I mean, I haven’t . . .” He grimaced. “I don’t know how to explain it, sir –”

“George,” Hammond corrected.

“George,” Jack said. “Right. I don’t know how to explain it. I’ve never wanted another man before, I still don’t find any other men attractive. It’s just Daniel.”

“With his blinding charisma,” Hammond said, half to himself.

“Exactly,” Jack said. “But . . . it’s more than that. Charisma can only get you so far. There has to be something underneath it, and in Daniel’s case . . .” He bit his lip. “I’m certain you don’t want me to rhapsodize at you about how perfect Daniel is, though.”

“Not particularly,” Hammond said, sounding slightly appalled, but he was smiling. “So you think this makes what happened to the four of you your fault?” he asked after a moment.

“Well, some of it. The rest of it’s my fault because I didn’t report in before confronting Calder with our information.”

Hammond took a long swig of his beer. “I don’t think so,” he said after swallowing.

“What?” Jack asked.

“I don’t think so,” Hammond repeated. “I think that you used poor judgment in not reporting in, but apart from that, I don’t think anything else is your fault.”

“How so?” he demanded. “Haven’t you been paying attention?”

“I have,” Hammond said. “Maybe more than you have.” Jack opened his mouth, but Hammond held up a hand and he bit his tongue. “I’ve also had Administrator Calder examined by Dr. McKenzie and questioned by Major McFarland.” Jack blinked. A shrink and a policeman. “And in reviewing their findings, and other evidence, I’ve come to the conclusion that the administrator would have found some way of taking advantage of the situation.”

“That’s not the point, George,” Jack said. “The point is that I gave him the wedge he needed to hurt Daniel so badly.”

“Your feelings and the relationship he assumed from the closeness between the two of you certainly gave him a tool,” Hammond said. “But he might have done exactly the same if he’d understood that you are simply very close friends. The point is, when teams are on other planets, they are incredibly vulnerable. All an alien power has to do to hold onto you is block the stargate, and you have no way to return. Administrator Calder had in his possession something he wanted badly, Daniel Jackson, and he used the tools at hand to obtain his desire.”

“If he wanted Daniel so badly, then why did he send him down to the plant?”

“McFarland asked that very question,” Hammond said. “And the answer is simple. He wasn’t all powerful. Apparently there is some kind of Council of Justice that demanded that Dr. Jackson be sent down to the plant because his crime was against the planet as a whole and not against the administrator personally. I gather from things he said that he was working on a way to get Dr. Jackson returned to him, by what means I don’t know.” Jack shuddered at that thought. If Daniel had been taken away from the plant . . . what would Jack have done? Hammond cleared his throat and Jack looked at him. “Regardless, you’re taking too much on yourself in this situation.”

“Fine,” Jack said even though he didn’t entirely accept the general’s assessment. “I still thought you should know the truth because it has a bearing on the events of this mission.”

“I’m glad you told me,” Hammond said. “Now, how long have you known?”

Jack blinked. “Since Edora.”

“Apart from the period during which you were extremely unpleasant, has the change in your feelings affected the way you handle the team in any way? Be honest.”

Jack took a deep breath and shook his head. “I’ve thought about it and thought about it. Daniel is still the civilian. Protecting him is my job. He’s number one on the ‘must get back’ list. I don’t give his opinions either more or less weight because of how I feel, and I try hard not to hinder his ability to get his job done because I’m being overly paranoid. Teal'c knows the truth, and he’s given me the occasional nudge when I was heading in that direction.” He sighed. “Besides, I was always insanely protective of Daniel, all the way back to that first mission to Abydos.” He snorted. “So, no, overall, it hasn’t changed things.”

Hammond took another long swallow, then he said, “How long ago did these feelings start?”

Jack shook his head. “I haven’t the foggiest clue,” he replied. “I never even thought about it till Edora.” He shrugged. “He was married and deeply in love, and she was missing in the worst possible way.”

“But if you had to guess?” Hammond asked, gently pushing for an answer.

“If I had to guess, I’d say . . .” He shook his head. “Maybe all the way back to the beginning, though I’d never have recognized it then . . . I’ve been wondering . . .”

“What?” Hammond prompted.

“When Sara left, I . . .” He sighed. “I loved her, and I didn’t want her to go, but it was also an immense relief.”

“Do you think that might have had something to do with Daniel Jackson?” Hammond asked.

Jack considered the question. It was what he’d been wondering, but after a few moments he shook his head. “No, I don’t actually. I think . . . I’ve always blamed myself for Charlie’s death. It was my gun, he’d wanted me to spend more time with him and I didn’t, there are a lot of reasons. So Sara’s pain, her heartache, it was all my fault. When she was gone, I didn’t . . .” He shrugged. “The guilt wasn’t always there in front of me.”

“That makes sense,” Hammond said. “So, what about Dr. Jackson?”

“I don’t know how I felt about Daniel at that point, though he was on my mind a fair amount. I’d look up into the stars, trying to guess where Abydos was, and think about that kind, gentle man who had given me my life back at the cost of his own, the man who had given up fast food and dentists to be with the woman he loved.” Jack shrugged again. “I thought he was pretty incredible, but I don’t think I was in love with him yet. Besides, I also thought a lot about Skaara and Sha’re, and Kasuf.” He gave Hammond a self-conscious grin. “That whole trip changed my life, there’s no denying it.”

“And Daniel Jackson was a big part of that.”

“He was,” Jack said. He took a long drink of beer, remembering. “I was so ready to kill myself and all those people, and Daniel knew it. He was there, he saw the bomb, knew what I was going to do, was appalled and angry, and even then, he threw himself between me and a Jaffa with a staff weapon.”

“I can see where that would have a strong impact,” Hammond observed. “My first impression of him was not so favorable, I must confess,” he added.

“Oh, that wasn’t my first impression,” Jack said. “My first impression was that he was a pain in the butt scientist with long hair and no social skills.” Hammond chuckled. “But I was very protective of him, nonetheless. I was ready to go ballistic when I found out Kowalski and Feretti had been hazing him.”

“Neither of them said anything about him to me,” Hammond said. “When I was questioning all of you about what happened on Abydos. They both kept quiet.”

“That was as much for the kids’ sake as for Daniel’s,” Jack said. “But by then they’d come to appreciate him. He helped plan the rebellion, his words were what inspired Sha’re to get the youngsters fighting back when we all got caught.”

“Yes, I recall reading about that.” Hammond pursed his lips. “In many ways that’s almost the worst thing about those two being taken by the Goa'uld. Sha’re and Skaara were so instrumental in removing the Goa'uld threat to their own world, that for them to be taken was somehow much worse.”

The door opened and Jack glanced at the clock. Daniel had made better time than he’d expected. Footsteps went into the kitchen and Jack heard him put the bags down on the counter. “Food’s here,” Jack announced, standing up.

“So I gathered,” Hammond said dryly.

Daniel appeared in the doorway looking slightly manic. “Do I scream gay?” he demanded, sounding irate. “Does something in my manner tell the world that I’m gay and available?”

Jack was about to say something reassuring, but Hammond stepped forward before he could do more than open his mouth. “Do you want to know the simple answer, Daniel?” he asked. “I know it’s been bugging you, and since I’m George tonight, I can be straightforward.”

Jack wasn’t sure what he thought of this, but Daniel tilted his head, some of the freakedness going out of his body language. “You’re George tonight?” he asked and Hammond nodded. “Why?”

“Because we’re having a quiet evening at home,” Hammond said. “Do you want to know?”

Daniel walked down the steps into the living room. “Yeah, I do.”

“It’s because you're so open and warm towards everyone you meet,” Hammond said. “The average heterosexual male has that level of empathy pretty well beaten out of him by the time he’s six. Gay men see it and think ‘he’s one of us.’” Jack listened to Hammond’s summation with keen interest, startled by how well it seemed to fit. “And the only way to find out for sure is to give it a try.”

Daniel blinked. “Um . . . uh . . . really?” he said after a moment.

“It’s also one of the reasons why women find you attractive. Observant heterosexual males see it and wonder.”

“But . . . people like Calder . . . they . . .”

Hammond’s expression grew sympathetic. “It calls to them, too. They see it as something to be beaten down.” Daniel shook his head, looking lost and pathetic.   “It’s nothing you’re doing wrong, son,” Hammond said, putting a hand on Daniel’s shoulder.

“That’s what Sam said,” Daniel said after a moment. “That the same thing in me that calls to people like Calder is what calls to the good people we meet who like me.”

Hammond nodded. “It’s true. And you can’t change it without becoming someone other than who you are.”

“What happened?” Jack asked.

“Let’s get dinner on the table,” Daniel said, and he abruptly turned back towards the kitchen. Jack and Hammond followed him and remained silent about his question until they were settled at the table with full plates and white boxes of food scattered around them.

Once they’d started eating, it was Hammond who broached the subject again. “Did something happen tonight to make you ask that question again?” he asked.

Daniel shrugged. “There was a guy at the takeout place who . . . who hit on me.”

“He what?” Jack exclaimed, but Hammond kicked him under the table and he subsided. Daniel was looking at him with more than a little alarm, and he regretted his outburst.

“So, what happened?” Hammond asked more gently.

“He put the moves on me, I freaked out, and he got all sympathetic and worried. I guess he recognized the signs or something, asked me if someone had hurt me.” Daniel’s lips twitched in an attempt at a smile. “He wanted to know if I’d seen a doctor, been tested, and alerted the authorities. I told him the guy was already under arrest and it seemed to reassure him some.”

“He didn’t get pushy?” Jack asked worriedly.

Daniel shook his head. “No, he was very apologetic, actually. I guess he had a good friend who –” Daniel broke off, looking uneasy. “Who got raped,” he said after a moment. “And he wanted to make sure I got the right kind of treatment. The . . . the weird thing is he figured out I wasn’t gay pretty quickly after we got past the initial stuff and it seemed to worry him more.” He snorted. “He gave me his number, in case I wanted to talk about stuff.”

“Talk about stuff?” Jack asked. “Why would you talk to a total stranger about it?”

“Because he thought I might want to ask questions about normal relationships between men,” Daniel said. “Since what happened to me was not normal. He emphasized that. Besides, sometimes it’s easier to talk about stuff like that to people you don’t know well. Anyway, I don’t know that I’ll ever talk to him about it, but he wanted me to know he was around.”

“That’s good,” Hammond said, and Jack stared at him like he’d lost his mind. The general kicked him again under the table.

“I think I may introduce him to Jim.”

“Great idea!” Jack said with a shade too much enthusiasm. Daniel gave him a vague glare.

“Speaking of Jim, I’ll be seeing him tomorrow night,” Hammond said. Both Jack and Daniel looked at him in surprise. “I’ve gotten his security clearance, so I’m meeting with him.”

“Security clearance?” Daniel asked, and Jack stared at the general in astonishment.

“Yes, he wanted to be able to help you, and to visit you on base, so I set the wheels in motion to grant him some level of clearance. This way you have someone outside of the SGC that you can talk to about whatever you feel you need to talk about.”

“So you’re meeting with him?” Daniel asked.

“To tell him the basics and give him the forms he needs to sign,” Hammond said, and Jack felt as if the world was spinning the wrong way. The military was making it possible for Daniel to talk freely to a man who wanted to have a relationship with him? It seemed beyond strange.

“I wouldn’t have dreamed that was possible,” Daniel said. “Thank you, sir.” Jack placed an iron control on his emotions, because he knew his dismay at Daniel’s wanting to have contact with Jim wasn’t rational.

“George,” Hammond said with a smile. “I’m not the general this evening.”

“Okay, thank you, George,” Daniel said. He sighed. “So, what’s going to be done about Calder?” he asked after several minutes of silent eating.

“For the moment, nothing,” Hammond replied. “Eventually we’re going to have to hold some kind of hearing, but that won’t be until the general staff has an idea of just what they really want to do with him.”

Daniel’s brows knit. “Doesn’t that seem kind of backwards?” he asked. “Don’t you hold a hearing to figure that kind of thing out?”

“Sometimes,” Hammond said. “Still, they’re going to want to take some time to come up with a couple of different solutions to the problem of having the leader of an extraplanetary government in custody for crimes against our own people.” Jack snorted dryly. He knew what he thought should be done with Calder, but he had a feeling the US government wouldn’t agree. Hammond gave him a dubious look before going on. “It’s not a legal situation that’s ever been explored before. They have to find some legal minds who have the clearance necessary to consider the facts of the case.”

Despite the fact that he’d brought it up, Daniel looked uneasy to be talking about this subject, so Jack cleared his throat and shifted the conversation to a discussion of just what Tony’s responsibilities would be. That carried them through dinner, and Daniel seemed to be considerably happier about the whole situation. Jack found himself wondering what had changed. He tried to tell himself that he was being too paranoid, but he wasn’t finding himself very convincing.

* * *

Daniel watched Hammond drive away and then shut the front door. He turned around to find Jack putting the cardboard containers away in the fridge. “So, you told him?” he asked

Jack dropped a box of broccoli beef and it splatted all over the floor. He looked up with wide eyes. “What?” he asked.

Daniel shook his head and grabbed a wet cloth and the box. He started shoving the food back into the box and cleaning up the sauce. Without looking up from the task, he said, “You told the general about . . . about the way you feel, didn’t you?”

Jack was silent for a moment. “I had to, Daniel,” he said. “After this last mission, I had to tell him. It’s not something that I can –”

Daniel stood up and met Jack’s eyes. “I don’t need an explanation of why you needed to tell him. I get that.” Jack’s eyes were confused, and Daniel sighed. Turning away, he tossed the box of food in the trash as he walked over to the sink to rinse the cloth. “What I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me you were going to tell him.”

“I didn’t have the guts,” Jack said behind Daniel. “I . . . I wasn’t sure you’d even realize that I had, that I’d have to. I thought maybe I could get out of telling you altogether.”

Anger surged in Daniel’s gut, and he threw the cloth down in the sink causing an enormous splash. Turning around, he glared at Jack. “Don’t be an ass!” he snarled. “In a situation like this one, the only way to go is honesty. You can’t go telling someone else about this and not tell me.” Jack’s worried dismay made some of Daniel’s anger convert to guilt, but he clung firmly to the rest, not willing to let this go. “Not warning me is even worse. I mean, what if I’d gotten upset about it? What if I hadn’t understood the reasons the minute I realized it had happened? What are you trying to do to me?”

“I didn’t –” Jack shook his head. “I wasn’t – I don’t –”

Daniel shook his head and turned back to the sink. “I’ll clean up, Jack. Why don’t you go in the living room and watch TV or something?”

After a moment, he heard Jack leaving the room, and he finished the clean up with his gut twisting with anger and guilt. He knew damned well that Jack wasn’t trying to ambush him, but that didn’t help a whole lot. He still felt ambushed.

Hammond had to know. There was no doubting that. Particularly not when Jack seemed to think it was the reason everything had happened. He just wished Jack had trusted him enough to tell him what he was up to. This whole mess was a history of Jack not trusting him enough to tell him things. He walked out into the living room and found Jack staring at a blank television screen.

“Jack, what are you doing?” he asked, a little exasperated.

“Watching the television,” Jack replied. Daniel wrinkled his brow, shaking his head. Jack looked up and saw the expression. “You didn’t say it had to be on,” the colonel said, deadpan.

Daniel blinked at him. It was a joke, clearly, but just as clearly, Jack was not on his game. As he looked up at Daniel, the deadpan look fell away, leaving a worried and profoundly unhappy man behind. Daniel walked over and sat down on the sofa beside him. “Jack, I’m not that angry. I just . . . there are certain courtesies I expect, and being told what’s going on is one of them.”

“I’m sorry, Daniel. I didn’t . . .” Jack looked down at his hands. “This whole damned situation has got me thrown. I . . .” He took a deep breath and sighed. “I love you, and on this mission, it gave Calder a more powerful tool to use against you. He might have . . . maybe . . . have focused on you anyway, but his accurate perceptions made things that much worse.”

Daniel shook his head. “It didn’t make it as much worse as you think it did, at least not on my end,” he said. Jack raised his head and looked at him, seeming a little taken aback. “Do you honestly think that I would have been any less freaked out about what that bastard was doing to me if I hadn’t known how you felt? Remember, so far as I knew, you had no idea what was happening. He told me, not once, but many times, that you were out of reach with no memories of me. He told me that before the first time he tried to r . . .” Daniel found the word hard to say suddenly and cleared his throat. “Rape me,” he said with careful precision. “And unless you’ve read the transcripts of my testimony . . .” He paused, waiting, and Jack shook his head. “Then you don’t know what the two key things he mentioned to me as his ‘evidence’ for our relationship were.”

Jack pulled his chin back slightly, tilting his head. “No, I guess I don’t at that.”

“He had security cameras in our rooms,” Daniel said, and Jack’s back straightened, ire flashing in his eyes. “He didn’t have us watched all night, but he saw images of us sleeping in bed together. You didn’t curl up to me, I curled up to you, so that’s not your fault.”

“I could have set you to sleep with Carter or Teal'c,” Jack said.

“So he would have thought I was lovers with one of them?” Daniel asked. “Yes, I can see how that would have helped.” Jack scowled at him, but didn’t protest further. “He was, I think, determined to believe that everyone in the universe would think of me sexually.” He grimaced briefly. “Certainly everyone he introduced me to did.”

“So, what this other reason you seem to think exonerates me from blame?” Jack asked.

“He noticed that you weren’t letting me out of your sight, but that’s been going on since day one, so that’s hardly related to your feelings.” Jack looked like he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what. Daniel sighed. “Jack, stop torturing yourself about this. These kinds of things have happened before on missions, never so . . . never with so much . . .” Daniel stopped trying to find the caveat he was looking for. “They will probably happen again. According to several people I’ve spoken to, my just being me makes bastards like Calder interested, but according to those same people, whatever traits cause that also inspire people like Nem not to kill me, or people like that guy on P3X-1279 not to kill Teal’c despite his past actions. I’m afraid I don’t see the connection, but . . . if it’s true that I can’t have the good without the bad . . .” He shrugged, feeling a little lost. “What can I do?”

* * *

Jack couldn’t look at Daniel’s dismay without wanting to comfort him. “If I put my arms around you, will it freak you out?”

Daniel turned to him, eyes unreadable. “If you do that, won’t it make things hard for you?   I mean with how you feel?”

“Not in the slightest,” Jack lied. “You’re my friend. I just don’t want to . . . I don’t know . . . give you flashbacks or something.”

Daniel’s eyes brightened and he flashed Jack one of those rare, sweet smiles. “If there’s one thing I know, Jack, it’s that you’d never knowingly hurt me. All the time I was with Calder, I was imagining what you’d do to him if you could.” He shrugged, looking away. “Men aren’t supposed to admit to things like this, but . . . you make me feel safe.”

Jack put his arms around Daniel and gently pulled him close. “Thank you,” he said in a voice that was unsteady with emotion. “That . . . I can’t . . .”

“I know,” Daniel said, relaxing against Jack’s shoulder. “Our culture really sucks in some areas, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does,” Jack replied. They were silent for several moments, then Jack cleared his throat. “Daniel, you keep on being you. I mean . . .” He shrugged. “You inspire me to be a better man. You always have. I think that’s part of what made me fall in love with you.”

“I don’t know what to say to that,” Daniel said after a moment.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Jack replied. “I don’t expect anything.”

“I wish I had more than friendship to give you,” Daniel said.

Jack squeezed him tightly. “Daniel, your friendship is more important to me than just about anything else in the world. Don’t ever . . .” He paused and pulled away to look deep into Daniel’s fathomless blue eyes. “Don’t ever feel like it’s second best.”

Daniel buried his face on Jack’s chest, and after a few seconds, Jack realized that he was crying. He didn’t know what had caused it, and he didn’t know what to do about it, so he just held his friend and tried to give him what comfort he could.

They had a long road ahead of them, much to recover from, and not all of it stemmed from this latest assault. With care and honesty from his friends, Daniel would get through it. He would be whole and himself again. And just maybe, Jack would be, too.


	30. Chapter 30

“I am perfectly capable of doing the dishes, Daniel,” Jack growled. Daniel grinned as he cleaned up the mess from lunch. Jack had to be feeling better. That cranky tone hadn’t emerged since their return, not directed at Daniel, anyway. “I am not an invalid.”

“I know, Jack,” Daniel said, not pausing.

Jack was standing behind him, and Daniel could almost feel him glaring. “Then why don’t you let me get on with it?” he demanded acidly.

“Because Janet would –” He heard the abrupt intake of breath that betokened another diatribe on the subject of the SGC’s CMO. Fortunately, a knock at the door interrupted him. Daniel glanced over his shoulder. “Why don’t you get the door?” he suggested mildly. “If you were an invalid, you know, I wouldn’t let you get it.”

“Thank you, Daniel,” Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He went to the door and Daniel found himself half hoping that it would be some hapless salesperson, whether of products or ideals, that Jack could vent his spleen on. It might be a good sign that Jack was back to venting on Daniel, but that didn’t make him eager to experience it any more than was strictly necessary.

Daniel listened to the sounds from the front hall and was surprised to hear Sam’s voice. He finished up hastily and grabbed some beers. Jack took her into the living room, and as Daniel approached the doorway, he heard her say, “Isn’t Daniel here?”

“Present and accounted for,” Daniel said, heading down the steps. “Beer, anyone?” he asked.

Sam nodded, but she had the funniest look on her face when she took one. Daniel handed one off to Jack and opened one for himself, then sank onto the sofa next to Sam. She launched into a random babbling of science geek gossip, but she seemed oddly ill at ease. Daniel glanced over at Jack, who was watching her with raised eyebrows.

When she wound lamely down, Jack leaned forward. “That’s fascinating, Carter,” he said. “Really, it is, but why did you really come out here at two o’clock on a Saturday when you’d normally be in a lab making things glow or blow up or something?”

Sam flushed and her expression turned unaccountably guilty. “Sir, I . . .” She blinked. “This is awkward, and I couldn’t approach you about it on base. I’ve already had to fudge a surveillance record on this, so more would be bad.”

“Fudged a . . .” Jack sounded stunned, and Daniel had to agree. Sam just wasn’t the type without real cause.

He stared at her blankly. “What’s up, Sam?”

She flushed again. “Let’s have it clear at the outset that I am asking nothing.” Daniel felt his back stiffen. She couldn’t mean . . . no. “I am just telling you . . . letting you know about a conversation I had that might . . . that could be . . .”

“Carter, what are you on about?” Jack demanded, but Daniel – and probably Sam – could tell that he had a fair idea. Daniel bit his lip. What had happened?

Sam just stared at them, apparently unable to get anything out. Daniel, sensing Jack’s rising impatience, took pity on her. “What conversation?” he asked. “With who?”

“With Brenna,” she said, and Daniel blinked perplexedly at her. “See, I’ve been trying to get her past blaming herself for everything, so I’ve been visiting, and she told me some interesting things that I . . . that I thought you should know.”

Daniel nodded uneasily and glanced over at Jack. The colonel was frozen in place, so tense that the veins in his neck stuck out. Daniel cleared his throat. “Sam, just tell us.”

Sam took a deep breath. “Brenna and I were talking about what we felt guilty for, and she told me that . . .” She glanced worriedly over at Daniel. “That Calder got unusually involved in setting things up for us. That he made a special request for the colonel’s stamp.” Jack and Daniel both remained silent, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “He told her that the colonel –”

“I think it had better be Jack for this conversation,” Jack said abruptly.

Sam’s eyes widened. “You mean it’s true?” she exclaimed, looking startled.

Jack shrugged with elaborate and spurious calm. “That rather depends on what you’re going to say, Samantha,” he drawled. “But all in all, I think that Jack would be safer for this conversation.” She nodded wordlessly. “For one thing, Jack’s less cranky.”

“Not true,” Daniel protested.

“Daniel!”

“See?” Daniel said with a malicious grin, trying to add a little humor to the tense situation.

“Look, this is really serious!” Sam said, and Daniel sank back. “Calder told her that Jack had a strong attachment that would interfere with his stamp, and he instructed her to substitute me as the focus of his attachment.”

Daniel suddenly understood why she was so hesitant to talk about it. Jack looked like a statue. “Go on,” Daniel said when she paused.

“He hadn’t told her who the attachment was to, but she said that when she saw you two together, it was clear it was the two of you.” Jack was still ominously silent, and Sam looked over at Daniel. “Is it true?”

“Not exactly,” Daniel said, giving Jack an uneasy look.

“Really?” Sam said, and she looked both surprised and curious.

“You said you weren’t asking, Samantha,” Jack groused. “This sounds an awful lot like asking.”

Sam grimaced. “I guess it is,” she replied, but then she leaned forward. “But that was before we shifted from colonel and major to Jack and Samantha . . . and call me Sam, would you, by the way?”

“Fine, Sam,” Jack said, sounding extremely irritable.

Jack’s mood seemed to be calling forth an equally snappish one in Sam. “And it seems to me, under the circumstances, I might have some justification for asking a few questions. I’m now involved, sort of. I fudged records!”

“No one asked you to!”

“Fine, then,” Sam growled, “I didn’t think I had to wait for someone to ask me to protect the team.” She gave him a distinctly unfriendly smile. “Did you want me to put it back?”

Daniel could see that a war of pissy moods was about to erupt and decided that he really didn’t want to play. “Okay,” he said, cutting both of them off. “As I see it, you guys have two options. You can both get a handle on yourselves and we can all discuss this like civil human beings, or you two can snap and snarl at each other as much as you want, but without me.” They stared at him in astonishment. He shrugged. “After all, I’ve got plenty of work to do at the mountain.”

“Daniel, don’t get all . . .” Jack trailed off, waving his hand in a vague gesture.

“All what, Jack?” Daniel asked sweetly. “Reasonable? Practical?”

Sam took a deep breath and visibly took control of herself. “Okay, I think we’re letting Calder’s games with our emotions wreak havoc on this conversation.” She sighed and gave Daniel a sheepish grin. “Daniel’s right.”

Jack glanced over at Daniel, who thought he was prepared for any reaction. Dismissal, irritation, snarky put downs, but he didn’t expect the warmth in Jack’s eyes. “He usually is, isn’t he?” Jack said fatuously. Daniel flushed and turned away.

Sam glanced back and forth between them. “All right, what is going on here?”

Daniel didn’t quite know what to say, but Jack cleared his throat. “What Daniel was kind enough not to say a minute ago is that I’m wacko for him, but he’s not interested.”

Sam stared, blinking. “You’re wacko for Daniel,” she repeated, as if looking for clarification. Jack nodded. She turned to Daniel. “And you’re not interested?” Daniel shook his head. “Why not?” she asked.

“He’s not my type,” Daniel said. “I prefer people with boobs. And bigger hips.”

“Boobs?” Sam repeated, and Daniel caught Jack grinning.

“Yeah, Carter, boobs. You’ve heard of them, right?” he said sarcastically.

“You know, Jack,” Sam said, emphasizing the first name, “I don’t find it at all startling to hear you use that word, but Daniel is something else completely.” She turned back towards Daniel. “Boobs?” she said, raising an eyebrow.

Daniel shrugged. “I thought it was kinder to Jack to keep the words simple,” he said with a mischievous look at their commanding officer.

Jack threw his hand up in the air. “I get no respect! None!”

“Well, you never got much from me,” Daniel said thoughtfully, and Jack rolled his eyes. “And as Sam, rather than as Major Carter, Sam isn’t required to give you respect.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Sam said hastily as Jack turned a contemplative look on her. “Just not the same level of respect.”

“Okay, so you thought we should know about what Brenna said, but what’s this about fudging records?”

Sam stared at him, then turned to Daniel, who shrugged, equally uncertain. “I don’t . . . I would never have seen it myself, but once she said something, it seemed obvious that there was something. And let me tell you, that startled me, because after that zatarc thing I thought . . . I mean, you said . . .”

Daniel blinked. “She makes a good point. I . . . what . . .”

Jack shook his head. “I do care for Carter a lot more than I should.”

“Sam,” Daniel corrected.

“Sam, fine.” Jack grimaced. “But caring more does not mean romantic caring.” Daniel was watching Sam’s face as Jack spoke, and he saw the pain that briefly lit her expression while Jack was looking down. “I care for all of you more than I should, as a military commander. You know that, don’t you, Car – Sam?” Sam nodded, her face calm and impassive. Daniel saw the confusion in her eyes, but he didn’t think Jack did. “But that’s the way it is on a lot of SG teams. We get incredibly close, but I’ve noticed, and so has the general, that the teams that get so close are the ones that have the best survival rates and the best success rates. So it doesn’t work for the rest of the military, but it works for us.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that, too,” Sam said.

Daniel took in a breath. “But now we have the added complication of the fact that you two were sort of a couple down below.” Both of them turned to stare at him with wide eyes. “It is a complication, and it’s bound to have repercussions.”

“Nothing happened,” Sam said, but she sounded kind of tentative.

“Not nothing,” Jack said. “Carter . . . Sam . . . sorry. We didn’t have any kind of a physical relationship, but there was an intimacy.” Sam nodded, and kept her head down. “Sam?” Jack said. She looked up and he saw the dismayed expression. “Does that make you uncomfortable?” he asked her.

Sam bit her lip. “A bit, but . . .” She sighed. “Well, with all this honesty going around, I suppose it’s my turn.” Jack raised his eyebrows. “I have been attracted to you for a long time. I realized how seriously while you were missing on Edora.”

“Are you saying you’re in love with me, Carter?” Jack asked incredulously.

“No, sir, no I’m not,” Sam said firmly. “What I’m saying is that if our positions were different, I might have given some thought to pursuing a relationship. I had to face that while you were gone on Edora, and I came to terms with it. But down in the plant, there were no barriers, and you were so . . . attentive.”

“Calder really had fun with us, didn’t he?” Daniel said, his gut roiling as he contemplated the mess Calder had made with his meddling. “In ways he didn’t even know about.”

“So, how are you feeling now, Carter?” Jack asked.

Sam shrugged. “A little freaked. A little sad. Very angry at being jerked around like this by that bastard.” Her eyes widened. “Wait, if he knew enough to tell Brenna to shift your attachment to me, then he must have known . . . when he . . .”

Daniel closed his eyes and nodded. “He did. It was part of the game he was playing.” His voice shook despite himself.

Sam squeezed his arm. “He’s never going to come near you again, Daniel,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about him.”

They were all silent. “So, now what?” Jack asked. “Now that he’s thoroughly screwed with all our lives, what do we do now?”

Daniel shook his head. “We don’t let him win,” he said. “Right? Sam, are you okay?”

“My heart’s not broken,” she said with a smile. She leaned forward and squeezed Jack’s free hand. “I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

Jack shrugged. “I’ll live with it somehow,” he said with a snarky grin.

“Well, it could have been worse,” Daniel said. “Anyone want another beer?”

“Daniel!” Sam exclaimed.

“Don’t you think it would have complicated matters somewhat if you and Jack had decided to have a sexual relationship, or rather, if Thera and Jonah had? You could be pregnant now.”

“That would be worse,” Sam said, eyes wide. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“So, you’re not heartbroken, Jack and I are working things out on our own, with a little help from Harry Lisle, and life goes on. Again. Till the next exciting crisis.”

“That’s sure a real positive way of looking at things,” Jack said.

“Jack, my life hasn’t been exactly uneventful.” Jack opened his mouth to respond, but Daniel shook his head. “It’s not a big deal, Jack. Don’t push.”

Jack grimaced and Daniel took the opportunity to change the subject to when his friend would be getting back to work. Since he was pretty irritable on that topic, Daniel was sure to avoid any further pressure to think more positively. It was ironic in the extreme to have the man best known for his sour attitude and sardonic humor pushing him to think positively.

* * *

Jack grimaced but he didn’t say anything else. Daniel had that look on his face that forbade comment, and there wasn’t really much to say anyway. Daniel did have a fairly eventful past. After suitable bitching about Fraiser’s insistence on standing him down, Jack fell silent again and Daniel turned to Carter.

“So, Sam, what exactly did you fudge?” Daniel asked.

“The conversation with Brenna,” Sam replied. “The minute she started talking about the two of you as a couple . . .” Sam flushed, and Jack sighed. “It just seemed obvious. I’m sorry, Daniel, but it did. And I didn’t want anyone who was being as blind as I was to hear it and say anything. Fortunately, no one was watching that monitor at that moment, so I just . . .” She shrugged.

Daniel looked down at his beer, and Jack was startled to see that it was empty. Daniel usually nursed his drinks for hours. Standing up, Daniel said, “Anyone want a fresh beer?”

“Sure,” Sam said. She didn’t seem to notice the oddity of Daniel having already finished his. She just handed Daniel her empty bottle. Jack nodded and passed his on to Daniel who walked with exaggerated steadiness out of the room. “Sir?” Carter’s voice drew him away from his gaze on Daniel’s retreating rear end.

“Yes, Carter?” he said. She raised her eyebrows. “Sam, then, okay. Maybe you should call me Jack when you want me to call you Sam. What?”

“Does the general know?” Jack blinked at her, startled by the question. “Not that I would ever tell him if he doesn’t, but I think it would be good if I knew if he knew.”

Jack nodded. “He does,” he confirmed. “And Teal’c knows.”

Carter’s eyes widened. “You told Teal’c, but you didn’t tell me?” she exclaimed.

“Nope, Teal’c figured it out on his own, but Carter, I would never have told you. Daniel and I aren’t having a relationship beyond the friendship you’re completely aware of, and while Teal’c couldn’t get in trouble for knowing and not telling, you might.”

She opened her mouth, but then closed it again, tilting her head thoughtfully. “That’s true enough. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Well, believe me, it’s occurred to me more than once that I could get you into a lot of trouble if I wasn’t completely circumspect. Frankly, I wouldn’t have told Daniel, but I screwed the pooch so badly with him that I really didn’t have a choice.”

“Is that . . .” She blinked. “That explains a lot.” Jack raised an eyebrow. “The trip to 888?” Jack nodded and wondered what was keeping Daniel. Carter looked like she was thinking hard. “Well, I must say I’m glad you two resolved the situation.”

Daniel came back at that moment, and the conversation turned to less dramatic topics. Jack was alarmed to see that Daniel’s second beer emptied as fast or faster than the first one had. Again, Carter didn’t seem to notice, but Jack could tell that his friend was just the slightest bit buzzed by the way his eyes were tracking.

Once Carter was gone, Jack walked over to Daniel and took the beer bottle out of his hand. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Up?” Daniel asked innocently, looking up at him and blinking owlishly.

“I can tell you’re upset about something, Dannyboy,” Jack said. “You never drink two beers that fast unless something’s bugging you.”

Daniel’s lips pursed. “Jack, don’t you think it’s a little alarming that Sam thought it made sense to think that we were lovers? I mean, if the merest suggestion makes her believe it, then . . .” He shook his head. “I don’t want to endanger your career, Jack, and if people look at us and see ‘couple,’ then I am going to endanger your career.”

“You’re not endangering anything, Daniel,” Jack said, exasperated. “You’re the one saying no.”

“Yeah, but I’m the one who seems to appear ambivalent,” Daniel growled. “And you know damned well that everyone will think it’s me and not you that led this off . . . and it won’t matter what you say.”

“Daniel, there hasn’t been a hint of gossip, and you know there would be if anyone was saying anything.”

“One of these days an outsider, like Brenna, whose culture doesn’t have an objection to same sex pairings, is going to make an unwarranted assumption and say something. Then who’s going to believe us if we say different?”

“Daniel, it’s not going to happen. Carter knows us both really well. She sees us in more unguarded moments than any of the other guys on base. It just isn’t the same.”

“Yeah, Jack, she knows us so well that it didn’t occur to her. People who don’t know us as well are more likely to wonder, not less.”

“Stop it, Daniel,” Jack said miserably. “I don’t know what to say, but we had this level of closeness before, so it shouldn’t change anything. I mean, we aren’t significantly closer now that we were two years ago.”

“But we’ve lost plausible deniability, Jack. Now if we say that nothing’s going on, we’ll be lying. Besides, plenty of people wondered at the beginning.”

“What do you want me to do, Daniel?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. I’m just worried about it.” Daniel stood up and looked him straight in the face. “Jack, it’s not that I want to change anything, I don’t think there’s anything we could do without making things look worse. Honestly.” He shook his head. “I’m going to bed to sleep this off.” He turned, his shoulder brushing Jack’s chest as he went. Jack watched him go up the stairs and tried not to think about the heat of his body so close. When he was gone, Jack sank into a chair and tried hard not to think about him stripping off his clothes and getting into bed, that gorgeous body uncovered briefly before he slipped between the sheets.

Shaking his head, he stayed where he was for a while, then went upstairs and found his own, solitary bed, wishing things were different.


	31. Chapter 31

Jack lay flopped on Daniel’s sofa, enjoying the scent of Daniel that lingered in the fabric while watching a three-year-old Simpsons episode. They’d come by after a half-day of Daniel working and Jack trying, ineffectively, to convince Fraiser to let him at least take light duty. Daniel was gathering some books he wanted for his continuing stay at Jack’s place.

He muted the TV when a begging commercial full of big-eyed children and guilt ploys came on. He already gave to several excellent charities for needy children, and he saw enough children in pain and misery in his job. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against the back of the sofa. His shoulder ached, and he found himself wondering how many more years of field duty he was capable of. The body grew less able to heal itself as it aged, and Jack wasn’t getting any younger.

The sound of a key in the lock brought his head upright, and he listened to the door opening, free hand feeling for his gun. There was no reason to expect trouble, but the habit had proven beneficial more often than not. He didn’t have to actually shoot anybody, after all. Having it ready was merely prudent.

Footsteps came up the hallway and Jack stayed quiet, wondering who it was. If the landlord had been expected, surely Daniel would have said something. Jack stayed where he was, but he looked up so that he could see who was coming in. It was a stocky man with dark hair wearing an elegant suit. Jack gazed at him thoughtfully, pretty sure he knew who it was. The intruder didn’t notice Jack until he was several feet into the room.

“Who are you?” he demanded, eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the man on the sofa.

Jack could guess what he thought and grimaced sourly. “The name is Jack,” he said in a quiet voice. “You must be Jim.”

Jim’s eyebrows went up. “I am. Is Daniel here?”

“He is,” Jack said. “Getting some books from his office.” Jack gestured with his chin.

“What are you doing here?” Jim asked. It could have been a fairly low key question, but Jim gave it a subtle spin that added whole new meanings. He was a lawyer, though, and Jack guessed that he was a pretty good one.

“We stopped off on the way back to my place,” Jack drawled. Jim’s lips tightened. “He’s riding herd on the one-armed colonel.”

“As if he doesn’t have enough on his plate,” Jim said tautly.

Jack sat up straight. “Are you implying something?” he asked in honeyed tones.

Jim shook his head. “No, I don’t think I implied anything. I think I was pretty straightforward.”

Jack tilted his head. “Actually, no, you weren’t. I’m not sure what you mean. Are you suggesting that Daniel and I are having some kind of sexual relationship? Or that I’m taking advantage of Daniel’s current emotional state? That I should find myself another babysitter? Are you saying that Daniel has more important things to do than babysit me? I suppose he could stay here and brood about all the crap that has been happening to him. That would help.” Jim just glared at him. “If it’s not one of those, then I got nothing.”

“Jack, I seem to recall there being a rule against saying that in my apartment.”

Jack looked up to see Daniel standing in the door to the rest of the apartment with a stack of books in his arms. “You’re completely right, Daniel. I lost my head.” He looked over at Jim. “If it’s not one of those, then I have no clue.”

“Hi, Jim,” Daniel said. “Good to see you. Sorry I unglued so badly last time I saw you.”

Jack looked curiously at Jim, wondering how the man was going to react. Jim shook his head, eyes full of warmth and concern. “Don’t worry about it, Daniel. How are you feeling now?”

“Much less unstable,” Daniel said with a wry grin. “Now, please tell me that you guys aren’t arguing.” He looked back and forth between them. Jack kept his face neutral and Jim did the same. Daniel’s lips tightened. “I really don’t need this.”

Jack got up. “Daniel, nothing’s wrong. It’s just . . .”

“A pissing contest,” Daniel said bluntly. “Comparing the size of your dicks. Two alpha males fighting it out to see who is dominant.” He shook his head. “Guess what, in this little triad, I’m the dominant male, or I will stop talking to both of you.”

“Daniel, you’re not going to stop talking to me, I work with you,” Jack pointed out reasonably.

“I can freeze you out, and you know it,” Daniel replied.

Gulping, Jack glanced at Jim, who looked alarmed. “I didn’t do anything,” he said. “I just came over to feed your fish.”

“I know, and I appreciate it, but I don’t have tons of friends, and if you guys start sniping at each other – and meaning it!” Daniel clarified with a glare at Jack who lowered his raised hand. “I’m going to get cranky.”

“Come on, Daniel, I just don’t trust him, and you know why.”

“Why?” Jim demanded, his irritation showing. “You don’t even know me.”

“You hit on him!” Jack growled, and there was silence in the room.

Jim turned to Daniel. “You told him?” he asked in hurt astonishment.

Daniel closed his eyes and Jack realized that they were pushing him too far, but it was too late now. “Yes, I told him,” Daniel said, his voice strangled with exasperation. “And I had every right to tell him. Jack, thank you for bringing that up so tactfully. It’s made this situation so much less awkward.”

“What, did you have a laugh at my expense with your macho buddy?” Jim asked.

Jack turned on him. “Oh, right, because that’s just the kind of guy Daniel is,” he growled. “What kind of a jackass are you?”

Jim flushed and gave Daniel an apologetic look. “Right, no, I know. I’m sorry, Daniel. I just . . . I really hate his type.” He jerked a thumb at Jack.

“My type?” Jack repeated. “What type is that?”

“Arrogant, judgmental, macho pricks!” Jim snapped.

“Quiet!!” Daniel roared, and both Jack and Jim stopped speaking instantly. Jack looked at Daniel and saw that he was in deep trouble. His friend had his arms crossed tightly, his brows drawn together in an angry line, and his lips were so tight they were pale. “Both of you, out! I don’t want to see either of you again tonight. Jim, would you be so kind as to take Jack home? That way the two of you can work out your differences in the car, because frankly, at the moment, I don’t give a fat damn.”

“But Daniel . . .” Jack started, but he wasn’t permitted to continue.

“Not tonight, Jack. I’ll come tomorrow after work, but tonight I’m staying here.”

“No!” Jack exclaimed. “Daniel, I promise, I won’t bug you or even talk to you, but you know you’re not supposed to stay alone yet.”

“Not supposed to stay alone?” Jim repeated, incredulously. “What in the hell is that about?”

“It’s true,” Daniel said with a grimace, not looking up. “They worry about me when I’ve had trauma.”

“It’s not just that, Daniel,” Jack said. “We don’t know what he might have done to you that you don’t know about.”

Daniel sighed. “Okay, I know, but . . .”

“Look, Jim can take me home, and we’ll talk. You follow us, and once we’re there, I’ll leave you alone unless I need help with something.”

“Fine,” Jim said. “I can go along with that.”

Daniel pursed his lips. “Let me get a bag for my books and we’ll do it.”

Jack and Jim gazed measuringly at each other while Daniel got his stuff together, resolutely ignoring them. Finally, they were all ready to go, and Jack climbed into Jim’s Chevy. Oddly, he’d expected a sports car. They drove in near silence for a while, Jack giving directions but nothing more. Finally, he sighed and said, “Look, can we just agree to make nice for Daniel’s sake?”

Not taking his eyes of the road, Jim nodded. “I’m good at making nice,” he replied.

Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Was that a double entendre?”

“No!” Jim said irritably. “I’ll let you know if I choose to drop one your way.”

“You’re not my type,” Jack replied sharply.

“I can just imagine what your type is,” Jim said sourly.

“Oh yeah? Exactly what is that?” Jack couldn’t wait to hear this.

“Blonds with big tits and no brains.”

“One out of three ain’t bad,” Jack said.

“Which is it? The tits or the brains?”

“Blond hair,” Jack said. Daniel’s hair bleached beautifully in the sun. “I like my partners brainy, and the shape God made them in, thank you.” A nice safe answer that didn’t exclude Daniel. Jack was obscurely proud of it.

“Well, good for you,” Jim said sarcastically.

“Why, what’s your type?” Jack demanded.

They pulled up and stopped at a stoplight. Jim turned and met his gaze levelly. “Daniel.”

Jack felt his lips tighten. “So you like gorgeous geniuses with low self-esteem?” he asked acidly. “You’d think that a smart guy like him, who’s accomplished so damned much, would have a little self-confidence, but not Daniel. Not when it comes to personal relationships, for sure.”

Jim blinked at him. “That’s rude,” he observed.

“Maybe so, but it’s true, and I am damn well not going to let anyone take advantage of him.” Jim’s eyes seemed to stray from Jack’s face, and Jack glared at him. “What?”

“Daniel is right behind you.”

Jack turned slowly and looked to see that Daniel had pulled up beside them at the light. He was looking at them, eyes narrowed in irritation. A medley of horns sounded behind them, heralding a green light, and both cars started moving forward, Daniel hanging back a bit. “That’s great,” Jack said. “He’s going to be pissy all night.”

“So, how long have you been in love with him?”

“About six –” Jack caught himself. The question had been asked very skillfully, just as one might expect from a trial lawyer. He fell silent and stared out the front window of the car for a moment while Jim continued to drive, pulling into a left turn lane. His eyes sought Daniel’s car behind them. Abruptly, he shifted sideways and dug his wallet out of his pocket. They came to another stop, and Jack looked around to see how close Daniel was. Another car had interposed itself just before the light had gone red, so he was far enough back not to be able to see anything clearly. Jim was just turning to speak when Jack thrust two one hundred dollar bills at him. “Retainer. I’m hiring you.”

Jim looked at the money, but didn’t take it. “I wasn’t aware you were up on criminal charges.”

“I may need a lawyer to defend me against charges of being homosexual in the military.”

An odd light came into Jim’s eyes and he took the bills. “This isn’t necessary. Just because I’m out doesn’t mean I think everyone else should be.”

“What, you don’t think I should send my career down the drain in the name of gay rights?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”

“I could refuse to take your retainer,” Jim pointed out, a grin quirking his lips.

Jack shrugged. “You could,” he said. “But I don’t think you’d like the alternative.”

“No? And what would that be?”

“The light’s green,” Jack said, gesturing with his chin. Jim muttered a curse, but turned back to the wheel and started forward again, hastily stuffing the two bills into the ashtray. They went on in silence for a while, then Jack cleared his throat. “Why did you ask, anyway? I need to know what my tells are.”

“A certain warmth of manner,” Jim said, shrugging. “Also, your choice of the word ‘partner.’ Straight men talk about women.”

“I was trying not to lie,” Jack said. “I’ll remember to lie in the future.”

“Probably wise,” Jim said in a strangled voice. “He’s also treating us the same, as if the same problem existed for both of us, so it’s not just you.”

“Great,” Jack muttered.

“It helps that I have much the same feelings about Daniel,” Jim added thoughtfully. “It makes me more likely to notice it in others.”

Jack really didn’t like that. It implied that every bastard offworld who had the hots for Daniel was going to see right through Jack’s brotherly façade. It also meant that every prick like Calder who wanted to get back at Jack was going to attack Daniel to do so.

“You’re looking pissed off. I’m sorry, I can’t and won’t change how I feel.”

Jack sat up straighter and looked incredulously at him. “You know, you are not the center of all things. I was thinking about something else.”

“Something else?” Jim repeated.

“Just how much did Hammond give you access to?”

“Can we talk openly in a car?”

“Moderately.”

“He told me I had full clearance, and that he was going to take advantage of the situation to use me as a legal consultant. Something about a . . . a foreign national leader in custody for crimes against an American citizen.”

Jack felt his shoulders tense. He hadn’t know Hammond was thinking along those lines, though it made good sense to use the resources they had at their disposal, and Jim would certainly be motivated to find whatever he could to nail the bastard. “Did he tell you who the man attacked?”

Jim shook his head. “He didn’t use the word ‘attacked,’ actually, or specify a gender. Do you know who he’s referring to?”

“Oh yes,” Jack said tautly. “We don’t have many ‘national leaders’ in custody. But if Hammond didn’t give you any details, I’d better not.”

“No, I suppose not,” Jim said.

They’d reached a more complicated section of streets to navigate, so their conversation dropped to the giving and receiving of directions. When they reached the house, Jim pulled in behind Jack’s truck as Jack instructed him to. They climbed out as Daniel pulled into his accustomed spot. He got out and walked over to them as Jim joined Jack on the passenger side of the car.

“Have you guys settled things?” Daniel asked. “Or am I going to have to give you both the silent treatment?”

“We’re good,” Jack said. “I think.” He glanced over at Jim. “We’re good, right?”

“Yeah,” Jim said with a shrug.

“Good enough that I’m inviting you to come in for a cup of coffee.”

“Honestly, no thanks,” Jim said. “I’d better be getting home. I’ve got a brief to . . .” His eyes widened. “Did the fish get fed?”

“I fed them when I got there,” Daniel said. “I was planning to leave you a note.”

“Oh, good,” Jim said. He glanced back and forth between Jack and Daniel. “Well, good night. I’ll call you tomorrow, if that’s okay?”

Jack dug in his wallet again. “There’s the phone number,” he said, handing over one of his cards.

“Thanks.” He nodded again, climbed back in his car and drove away.

Daniel waited until they were in the house with the door closed, then he turned to Jack with an irate expression. “Did you tell him?” he demanded.

“Not on purpose,” Jack said, reflecting that Daniel was too perceptive for his own good.

“Is that supposed to be better?” Daniel exclaimed. “Jack, why did you tell him, of all people?”

“He tricked me,” Jack said, shrugging and walking on into the kitchen.

“Jack, you’re special ops!” He followed Jack and gazed at him in exasperation.

“And he’s a defense lawyer,” Jack retorted.   “Apparently a pretty good one.”

“Jack!” Daniel shook his head, his frustration showing itself in rising anger. “How could you let something like that happen?” he demanded sharply. “It’s not like you’re comfortable with him. How could you let that information just slip?”

Jack was startled by this intense reaction on Daniel’s part. He tried to project calm and continued to speak casually. “Actually, we do have something in common,” he said. Daniel’s eyes snapped angrily, and Jack couldn’t help thinking that passion only added to Daniel’s natural charisma. Repressing the reactions this thought brought on, he tried to get Daniel to see reason. “Besides, it’s not like I just announced it. He caught me off guard with a guess, and I inadvertently confirmed it.”

This failed to mollify Daniel, and he gazed intently into Jack’s eyes. “Jack, I trust Jim, and I’m certain he would never do anything with this information, but you need to be more guarded.” Jack took a step back before his vehemence. “If you let things slip like that in front of someone less trustworthy, you could . . .” His voice broke. “Jack, you have to be careful!”

“Daniel, what . . .” Jack stepped forward and took Daniel’s shoulders. “Daniel, I would never do anything that would hurt you.”

“I’m not worried about me!” Daniel growled, swinging his arms up to break Jack’s grip. “Jack, I won’t let you throw your career and your reputation away!”

“I love you, Daniel!” Jack said. “Shouldn’t that outweigh concerns like career and reputation?”

“Lots of things should be, Jack!” Daniel snapped. “But it makes no sense to throw it all away when there’s nothing to gain by it.”

Jack felt like Daniel had just punched him in the gut. Daniel saw the reaction, and his expression changed from angry anxiety to apology instantly. Jack recovered himself before Daniel could speak the pity his expression told all too clearly. “Right, no, that makes sense,” he said in as cool a voice as he could manage. Daniel hadn’t meant to stick a knife in him and twist, and he really didn’t need to hear Daniel telling him so. It would just lengthen a moment that he wished was over already.

“Jack, I –” Daniel started, but Jack waved him silent, and for once in the history of their friendship, Daniel obeyed.

“It’s okay,” Jack said. “I’m going to take a shower. See you in the morning.” He walked past Daniel and went upstairs, heart aching miserably. Daniel followed him out into the hall, but stayed downstairs. Jack didn’t turn to see him looking up, not wanting to see his expression.

He stayed in the shower for a long time, letting the hot water wash over him. Daniel’s words ate into him. Nothing to gain. Nothing. Jack wasn’t sure what to think of that statement. With Daniel, you always had to weigh the words for meaning. Straightforwardly, it could mean that Daniel didn’t and couldn’t feel the same way about him. Gradually, Jack let denial push him away from that interpretation. Teal’c had said there was hope. He surely wouldn’t have said that if he hadn’t seen something in Daniel’s manner that suggested the possibility of something happening between them.

No, the more likely interpretation was that Daniel simply didn’t see that he was worth risking a career over. He had always had such low opinions of himself, and he seemed to have a kind of fatalistic attitude about his own life. He believed that everyone else had possibilities in front of them, but he always seemed to view his own life as an inevitable sequence of wretched events.

Jack wondered suddenly if that was part of what made him unwilling to consider a relationship. He didn’t want to draw Jack too close to the center of the whirlpool of disappointment and loss.

Drawing his fingers through his wet hair, Jack stood up straight, the water hitting him in the chest and running down his body. He would be patient. He would work past Daniel’s fear and resistance, find a way to show him that no loss was great enough to offset the joy that life with Daniel could give him. He – Jack blinked. He really needed to stop thinking like a soap opera.

Nevertheless, patience was his best weapon. Feeling abruptly more confident and invigorated by this realization, he rinsed himself off and got out. He pulled on his robe and went back downstairs where he found Daniel sitting in the living room, staring glumly out the window. The lights were off and so was the television, and he didn’t seem to notice Jack’s approach.

Jack snapped on the light, and Daniel looked up. His face transformed in the cascade of expressions that always enchanted Jack, landing on apologetic. “I really didn’t mean to say that, Jack,” he said.

“I know,” Jack said. “But do me a favor, will you?”

“What?” Daniel asked earnestly.

“Don’t worry so much about my career. It’s weathered a hell of a lot worse than this, and, besides, it’s my problem.”

“Jack, you’re my friend, what affects you affects me, and I –”

“I would be glad of your support, but if I out myself, it’s neither your fault nor your responsibility,” Jack said, sitting down next to Daniel. “I will be careful, but I do think that Jim is a special case. He figured it out, and he says it was from both of us.”

Daniel’s eyes grew perplexed. “Both of us? What did I do? For that matter, what did you do?”

“Well, he said you acted like we had the same issue with you, that you treated us both the same.”

“I didn’t!” he repudiated instantly, but then he seemed troubled. “Did I?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. But Jim had a good point. He already . . . cares for you. He’s predisposed to see other people reacting the same way. And I said something in the car that he interpreted correctly, and he gave me some pointers about how to avoid that in the future.”

“What did you say?” Daniel asked.

Jack shrugged. “We were discussing our types. I admitted to having a preference to blonds, but then I said I preferred partners who were brainy and the shape God made them.”   Daniel’s eyebrows went up. “I was trying not to lie. I won’t do that again.”

“Lie, Jack,” Daniel said. “This is not a situation for truth, not when the government would punish you for it.”

“That was Jim’s comment,” Jack said. “I expect that from a lawyer, but from you?” He chuckled. “Pure, innocent Daniel, advising me to lie?”

“Pure?” Daniel repeated incredulously. “Innocent? Jack, have you been drinking?”

“Nope,” Jack said with a grin. “But, come on, Daniel. Don’t even try to convince me that you’re not pure as the driven snow.”

“If that’s my reputation around the SGC, people don’t know me very well. I’m an academic!”

Jack nodded. “That’s part of it, Daniel,” Jack said.

“Academics are some of the most ruthless people out there!” Daniel said. “Friends stab each other in the back to get preferments, some people would sacrifice their own children for an important find.”

“And you would do that?” Jack asked.

“No,” Daniel replied acidly, “but that’s not the point.”

“But it is,” Jack said. “You were in this hotbed of conspiracy and treachery, and came out of it as compassionate and honorable as you are. Pure as the driven –”

“Cut it out!” Daniel was flushing, and Jack was glad to see that he’d shifted the subject sufficiently to get Daniel out of his apologetic mode. “One of these days, I should introduce some of you delusional people to my old friends from college.”

Jack tilted his head. “Sounds fun.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d love to meet a bunch of archeologists and anthropologists who’ve done nothing but focus on their careers for five years.”

“Why not?” Jack asked.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Never mind. You want to watch a movie?”

“Sure.” Jack leaned back. Patience. He could do patience. Really he could. Daniel walked over and fiddled with the DVD player, presenting Jack with a beautiful view of his butt. Jack sighed.

Patience.


	32. Chapter 32

Daniel followed Jack through the stargate into a green and yellow meadow. Beech trees grew around the edges. Jack took a few steps away from the gate and stopped, looking out over the beautiful view. Daniel walked up beside him and surveyed the land. A road led across the meadow to a break in the beech trees. Everything looked pastoral and lovely.

The gate closed behind them after Sam and Teal’c came through. Without turning, Jack said, “Are our friends going to be able to handle all this open space, do you think?”

“We carefully sited their housing near an underground cave system,” Carter said. “They should be fine.”

“I imagine you’re right,” Jack said. “I wonder why no one’s here to greet us.”

Abruptly, a group of people appeared at the opening in the trees. When they saw that SG-1 had arrived a great shout rang out and they came running, one lone figure moving along more slowly behind them with a slight limp.

Kegan was with them and she put on a burst of speed and slammed into Daniel with a great big hug. She started babbling almost instantly, telling him about how wonderful this all was and how beautiful, and what all they were doing. He could barely understand her she was gabbling it all out so fast, and she seemed such a changed person from the sullen cynic he had known on P3R-118 and the gloomy refugee she’d been at the SGC. He hugged her back and walked with her, enjoying her enthusiasm and excitement.

They all started across the meadow. Sam was talking with Mevor, the woman who had led Sam’s section in the plant. Jack and Teal’c were walking with a couple of the men. About halfway across, they met up with Tony who turned back to walk with them. Daniel grinned over at the young man. After the efforts Tony had made on the behalf of the refugees from 118, Daniel would be pleased and proud to have him as his assistant. They had met a couple of times over lunch and discussed how things should run, and Daniel had found him very sympathetic to the different needs of an academic department over a strictly military one.

The air was clear and fragrant, and Daniel was glad he’d taken his antihistamines.

This was truly a fresh start for the refugees. This world had not been on the Abydos cartouche, and the civilization that had existed here had gone centuries ago. The SGC had a team settled here, at a naquadah mine about fifteen miles out from the gate, but the pastoral nature of most of the world made it an ideal place to relocate the people from P3R-118. The general had sent a team through to start constructing shelters.

But they wouldn’t be on this planet today if it hadn’t been for Tony. Once he’d heard about the construction on the new world, Tony had gone to the general and, in what had to be an incredibly courageous act for a young lieutenant who only recently joined the command, told him that he should let the refugees build their own houses. The general had agreed, then to Tony’s surprise, had sent him along to give the refugees a measure of consistency. Members of the Air Force had volunteered to come and help them settle, and some of the academic staff of the SGC who were knowledgeable about agriculture and animal husbandry were staying for a while as well.

By the time they reached the village Kegan had calmed down a bit. “Well, what do you think?” she demanded eagerly.

“It’s wonderful, Kegan!” Daniel said, grinning. “Absolutely beautiful.” Used to the universally grim nature of the world below, apparently the refugees had discovered color. The uniform houses were painted in riotous colors, all the colors of the rainbows.

“Wow,” Jack said in a voice that suggested the word was inadequate to express his full reaction. “Wow.”

They took a tour of the village and observed some of the classes. Since all of the workers who had been born in the plant were illiterate, and they were in the vast majority over those who had lived above and been condemned to life in the plant, everyone was being taught to read and write in English. There were classes on everything from crop tending to parenting.

As the day drew to a close, they all gathered for dinner in the village square. When everyone was mellow after eating, Sam stood up and all eyes were drawn to her. “We are all very proud of what you’ve accomplished in a few short weeks. This little town of yours is amazing.” There was applause from her listeners and Jack let out a cheer. “You’ve proven again how very resilient human beings can be under adverse conditions.” She looked around. “I can’t believe how much you’ve gotten done, and this is just the beginning.”

“It’s all thanks to you,” Mevor said loudly, to loud agreement from her fellows. Over the day, Daniel had noticed that people were getting along better than they ever had down in the plant. Kegan was grinning and cheering right along with the others. It probably wouldn’t last, but people had hope now, for themselves as well as for their descendants.

“You had to have the courage to follow us,” Jack said suddenly. “You could have sat and dithered, but you didn’t. I am impressed by everything I’ve seen today, by your courage, your determination, and your ability to move forward.”

“Indeed, O’Neill,” Teal’c said.

Daniel was about to speak up but Sam beat him to it. “But we’re all leaving out one key person, the one person without whose intervention none of us would be here today,” she said. Into the curious babble, she said one word. “Brenna.”

An uproar followed, and Daniel stood up. Raising his hands silenced the group. “Without Brenna, Jack, Sam, Teal’c and I would be dead, you would all still be in the plant knowing no more than you did before, and your world would have gone on using you and your descendents as slave labor.”

To his surprise, the formerly volatile Kegan asked the first coherent question he heard. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“There are several things you need to know. First, she was stamped just like you. She was stamped to be a supervisor rather than a worker, but that’s the only difference.”

“Did she tell you that?” asked a woman named Jessan.

“Yes, she did,” Sam said, “but it was confirmed by Administrator Calder.” Daniel felt his face tighten, and he knew that the gathering of people noticed his discomfiture. “And he has no reason to lie about that.”

“Okay, what else?” asked a voice from the crowd. Daniel didn’t see who.

“Brenna cares about all of you,” Daniel said. “Every time we get news of how you’re doing, she wants to know that everyone is okay and that things are going well.” No one seemed to know how to react to that. “And, according to Administrator Calder, even though he thought she was too soft-hearted to make a good administrator, he was overruled on the subject of replacing her with someone more hardheaded because there were fewer injuries and deaths in her plant than in any of the other facilities.”

“There were?” asked Mevor, looking shocked. “But . . . if that’s the case, then how many people died in the other facilities?”

Daniel shook his head. The statistics Calder had recited without the slightest trace of dismay were appalling. “Calder views you all as expendable, tools to be used until you break and then thrown away. Brenna views you, and us, as people. She is a good person who did the best she could in a rotten situation.”

“How is it that she saved your lives?”

Jack took up the tale and told them what happened in Brenna’s room on that fateful morning. Daniel sat down and took a deep breath, trying to quell the deep uneasiness any mention of Calder brought up in him. At least here everyone understood, though he didn’t altogether like the fact that everyone knew. On the other hand, no one judged, which made a big difference. Kegan reached out and put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed.

Daniel put his arm around her waist and squeezed back. Things were well on their way to being all right again. His visits with Harry were producing results, the refugees had started a new life for themselves, he and Jack were okay again, Jack and Sam were okay again. Life was finding a new normal, and it was a good one for once.

“We’ll put it to a vote, secret ballot,” Mevor announced. Pencils and slips of paper were passed out to all the refugees. Sam and Daniel were appointed to count the ballots. It was by no means unanimous, but the overwhelming vote was to invite Brenna to join them. Daniel smiled. Brenna would be glad, though he privately thought Sam would miss her. Of course, they could always come back here for visits. Their time in the plant was terrible, but not because of these people. He looked over the crowd, all talking and making plans, and his eyes met Jack’s unexpectedly. Jack was gazing at him, expression sardonic, but his eyes warm and loving.

An odd warmth started in Daniel’s belly, and he grinned back.

* * *

Jack was enjoying the party. His strategy of patience seemed to be making Daniel more comfortable with him, these people really deserved a good time, and a woman who didn’t deserve to be an outcast was now . . . an incast. Or something. Anyway, she was coming home.

Someone starting up some music and people got up and started moving to it. There was no particular organization to the dancing, but it was fun.

He worked his way through the group till he was with the rest of his team. He stopped and stared when he saw Teal’c though. Daniel’s eyes were twinkling as Teal’c showed one of the new locals how to do the twist. He saw Jack staring at him. “I saw it on VH-1,” he said solemnly.

Jack found himself grinning, and then he joined in the dance. The look on Daniel’s face was worth any possible injury he could do his knee. Maybe he should add a few surprises to patience in his strategy to woo Daniel. Show him what he was made of.

Moments like this were what the rest of life was for, he thought. Moments of pure fun and silliness, friends together.


End file.
